International Student Blog | Chenchun Ma

Monday, Jan 06, 2020
Alli Scheetz
International Blog
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Chenchun among other Juilliard students after a show.
Chenchun and classmates after a performance

Chenchun Ma (BM '19, piano) is working on her master's degree—find out why she chose to return to Juilliard.

When did you begin to play the piano? What made you want to play?
When I was 5, my parents bought me a piano. Here is how they picked this instrument for me: My father used to play the bamboo flute. It is funny that, at that time, he was getting a music education degree, and he struggled with the Ear Training class. He thought it was because he never had any piano fundamentals. I am pretty sure that they did not expect me to become a professional musician at first. However, as time passed by, I became more serious about it.

Did you ever consider playing another instrument? Can you play any others?
I wish I could. When I was in third grade, I thought about learning to play the zheng, a Chinese plucked string instrument, after watching my friend’s performance. My parents did not let me to do that, as it is another large instrument that cannot be carried easily and I already played the piano. I  didn’t insist and soon forgot about it. Now I’m glad I didn’t do that, as I would not have concentrated on piano as much if I learned something else.

You returned to Juilliard for your master’s program. What made you want to stay?
Mainly because I would like to stay with the same teacher. I really enjoy working with her. In addition, I feel that even I have been here for four years, there are still a lot of events and opportunities going on around school I had not yet experienced. In past four years, I kept trying something new every year, such as taking extra courses, taking part in the Juilliard-Columbia-Barnard exchange program and ChamberFest, being a student leader to organize events, doing community service, and teaching. Juilliard never gets me bored.

How was your transition to Juilliard when you arrived for your first year of college?Orientation was unforgettable. Coming here was my first time to leave my hometown by myself. I was so homesick first few days when I got here. Orientation was such a great preparation for my college life. I not only learned about the resources provided by school but also got much joy from meeting new people, eating free food and snacks, and attending fun programs and outings. Orientation energized me a lot before the school actually started. I had never studied in an English-speaking environment, so the beginning was not so easy. However, I got so much help from teachers and classmates, and there are also many resources for assistances from school, such as the writing center. As there is such a big amount of international students at Juilliard, I did not feel so upset at first because I knew I was not the only one had this issue, and after a short while, it got much better.

You are a Gluck Community Service Fellow. What is your favorite part of going into the NYC community and sharing music?
Community Service was a brand-new concept to me. I think it that classical music becomes more reachable through these kinds of performances. I admired people who were doing it, which finally made me apply for this fellowship. I enjoy the interactions during the performances. It is fun to talk about the music or my school life and musical experience to the audience. I also got some interesting requests at the performances I did, like doing improvisations. In addition, through the Gluck program I get the chance to work with not only musicians, but also dancers and drama students. Our collaborations add a lot diversity to the performances.

Chenchun with students during an RA meeting
Chenchun at Orientation this year

You’re also a Resident Assistant (RA) in the Juilliard Residence Hall. What’s your favorite this about being an RA?
Hosting programs! Fun activities, free food, fantastic memories for everyone! This is a great time for me to meet and know more about people living in the Juilliard residence hall. I am a person who always has programming ideas crossing my mind. I hope people can have a good time during my events, so that they can be refreshed and ready for going back to their works.

Because you have so much free time, you are also a teaching fellow for Ear Training. Can you explain what ear training is? What is it like teaching it?
This is a very precious opportunity for me to gain some teaching experience. Ear Training is a course that musicians take. It improve their aural skills—such as hearing, recognizing, and memorizing pitches, intervals, chords, and rhythms—in order to let us be more sensitive to those elements, which supports our music making. As a teaching fellow, I demonstrate the materials to students, help them to complete the exercises, and solve whatever troubles they have during classes and coachings. After teaching for a while, I started to understand and learn many different ways other people hear and think of the music, which has been very helpful.

Do you have any advice for the international students who are currently applying to Juilliard?
Be open to the new culture and concepts presenting in front of you, and be brave to try something out. You will be amazed that a tiny random thing can enrich your life. There are also so many international students here. Don’t worry about those shocks, you can always find someone in the same boat as you. Be yourself, you will find a best place to fit in our community.

Chenchun and friends from Juilliard
Chenchun and friends in the residence hall

What is one thing we cannot miss when visiting your hometown?
Definitely Shanghainese cuisine. I highly recommend the crabmeat and pork xiaolongbao (steamed buns)  (sorry vegetarians ;P) at Nanxiang Bun Shop in Yu Garden. That is the food I miss the most.