AAC Practice of Listening Residency
Thank you for supporting my work in the practice of listening through participating in my Conscious ListeningTM work, research, and development. It's a personal kind of activism. Growing up female and Asian, there is an expectation that I keep my thoughts to myself. But listening is about building relationships and exchanging empathy. So I learned to use my voice in new and indirect ways. While this residency is over, I remain dedicated to evolving my work, and it is made possible by your support.
I invite you to stay involved with a Conscious Listener Membership.
Happy listening!
Video Series
Collaborative Listening
Listening to Explore Possibilities
Listening for Authenticity
The Power of Listening
Listening to Create Belonging and Dignity
Fostering a Culture of Active Listening
Investing in Forgiveness: The Transformative Power of Collective Confession on the Path to Reconciliation
The Intersection of Christian Faith and Social Activism
All Angels' Church, 251 W 80th Street (& Broadway), New York City
Hsing-ay Hsu, 2022-2023 Artist-in-Residence
Seth Little, Director of Music and Art
Personal Vision
I am thrilled to be the 2022-2023 Artist-in-Residence at All Angels' Church in New York City, exploring "The Practice of Listening"! When I first created Conscious ListeningTM, I was looking for ways to expand the way audiences listen and engage with concert music. Since then, I spent fourteen years working with University of Colorado students on how to rehearse and collaborate in a way that was led by listening, so that the performance was personally meaningful and multidimensional. In this next chapter of my work, I want to explore why the quality of listening is important to life as well, and how a regular practice of listening is an essential part of being an engaged and creative community member.
Founded as an Episcopal settlement parish in the historical Seneca Village, All Angels' Church has always had a reputation for bringing people of different backgrounds and circumstances together, bridging art and faith, and listening to a diversity of voices including those of vulnerable and spiritually exhausted New Yorkers. (Its parishioners included author Madeleine L'Engle.)
In our society of ever increasing complexity and diversity of values, the compression of time to process and absorb information, and an epidemic of loneliness, we are more challenged than ever to find common ground and pathways forward. I am moved to use music listening as a way to cultivate a creative mode for connecting to ourselves and others, and for creating a safer culture of listening. How encouraging to partner with Seth Little, Director of Music and Art, and the community at All Angels' Church on this adventure!
Main In-Person Events
SUN 10/23 11:30-12:30 Conscious ListeningTM Demo
Musical Connections of mind, body & heart
FRI 2/10 7-8pm Valentine's Benefit Recital & Reception following
An interactive creative game! Tickets & Details: https://bit.ly/3hIwwsy
SUN 3/26 12pm-12:45pm: The Collaborative Process - Hsing-ay in collaborations with other AAC creatives
How do you listen well to the OTHER and find a way forward TOGETHER.
Related Events
SUN 10/23 1-2:30pm Nutmeg Studio Adult Piano Masterclass
SAT 11/13 7pm Expanding Joys of Conscious Listening House Concert (UWS)
TUE 12/17 10:30am Caroling at Pathways with Seth
FRI 1/27 7pm AAC Artists Gathering
SAT 3/25 12-1pm Conscious ListeningTM Online Café
SUN 3/26 1:15pm-2:45pm Nutmeg Studio Chamber Music Masterclass
How do you listen and communicate in music?
SAT 3/4 - 4/15 Online Piano Intensive for Adult Lifelong Learner Musicians
Questions? Hello@HsingayHsu.com
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Gallery
Sunday, March 26, 2023
The Collab Project Program
*Doxology - Old Hundreth, Arranged by the AAC Youth Group
*Hosting a Creative Space: The Alcotts' by Ives
*A Musical Lexicon for Dance Intentions
*Reflections and Next Steps for this Residency
Chamber Music Masterclass Program
Beethoven - Allegretto for Piano Trio, WoO 39; coached by Amy Kim
Mozart - Movement from Sonata for Violin and Piano in e minor
Mozart - Movement from Jupiter Symphony, Piano 4 hands
Blog: Creating Space for Brave Endeavors
I remember vividly those early days of trying to get my baby to walk all by herself. I would step back a foot away to wait and see if she would take the risk of "falling" towards me. It is that crucial action of stepping away, not too far but not too close either, that creates space for growth and confidence to happen.
When we grow older, the precious idea of taking creative risks becomes something we have to practice consciously, to combat the negativity of failures, shame, judgements, and pressures. Chamber music comes to "play", with its innocent demand for communication, emotional empathy, and most of all, active listening. As an auditory art, music invites our imagination and an integration of ideas and memories and intentions. If we can create space for "play", we can approach music - and by extension life - as a gift, a social engagement, an opportunity to have camaraderie, a way to approach the sacred and divine.
As a chamber music coach, my chief interest is to create gaps that are small enough for anyone to step over, and big enough for those who are ready for juicier challenges. I resist the customary "don't make mistakes" mentality by inviting participants to take creative risks and decide whether they are ready to accept my help. The hidden creativity that lies beneath the surface of the many masks that students wear never ceases to astound me.
Playing chamber music builds active listening skills and emotional empathy, as well as the more advanced social skills of learning how to cue others what you need and learning to intuit the group energy accurately. I believe we are designed not only to create, but also to collaborate. And to do that, we need to practice our listening, in music and in life, in order to expand our awareness and diversity of skills, and simultaneously integrate our learning into an ever evolving new version of ourselves.