Minsoo Sohn doesn’t remember the specific instance when he first played the piano. But, his mother told him he was 3 years old and would sit at the bench, playing for hours.
Sohn, assistant professor of piano in the MSU College of Music, joined MSU’s faculty in August and will perform his debut recital at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Music Building Auditorium.
“It was a destiny that was predestined for me,” he said. “I never really thought about pursuing my career — I just liked to play the piano.”
Sohn’s job at MSU is his first full-time teaching position.
“(The MSU College of Music) is quite well-known worldwide, and the faculty is amazing,” he said. “I’ve heard so many great things about the school and the atmosphere.”
Sohn attended the New England Conservatory in Boston after moving to the U.S. from his hometown Seoul, South Korea, in 1995 when he was 18 years old.
It was at the conservatory where he studied with two of his teachers, Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun, whom he credits as being the most influential to his career.
“Without them, I would not be a pianist,” Sohn said. “I would be someone who tries to be a pianist and someone who loves music, but I’ve learned everything about piano from them.”
It was difficult for Sohn to adjust to the U.S. culture, in addition to learning English, but he said his teachers encouraged him to develop as a well-rounded human being, not just a musician.
For some lessons, Sohn said his classes would take trips to the zoo and the museum or simply discuss the current political situations in the world.
“I’m eternally grateful,” he said. “These were the things I never really turned my attention to because I was too caught up with developing myself as a pianist and just staying at the practice room for hours.”
Dan Miner, a music education and music performance junior, said he was assigned to Sohn’s studio this semester.
“I have learned so much,” Miner said. “A few of my other professors have noticed a significant difference, and although I’m not sure, I’d like to think it’s partially due to him.”
Miner plans to attend Sohn’s recital and said watching his professor perform is motivating.
“It’s really inspiring to see,” Miner said. “He’s not just talking the talk — he has skill behind it.”
As a professor, Sohn said he hopes to explore music with his students and share his experiences and perspectives.
“Everyone has really, really good things inside all of us,” he said. “If I could somehow find a thread from a certain person and maybe pull that thread and make something … that would be great.”
Deborah Moriarty, professor of piano and chair of the piano area, said Sohn was hired after an audition process during the summer.
“He has just everything going for him,” Moriarty said. “He has played all over the world, and we’re very excited.”
As a pianist, Sohn is an exciting player but sensitive, Moriarty said.
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“We’re just delighted to have him here,” she said. “There’s not a lot of people out there like him.”
Sohn said he has enjoyed performing with internationally renowned ensembles throughout his career, but when all acclaim is stripped away, he is left with the same adoration for music he had as a child.
“One of the truly great things in this world still remains music,” he said. “That would be my motivation: just for the love the music.”
