Librarian’s Unexpected Journey From Blizzards to Basel
Murah Hsuing said goodbye MYS last week after four years as Head Librarian. She will be pursuing graduate study in viola performance at the Hochschule für Musik Basel in Basel, Switzerland.
When Murah Hsiung was first encouraged to apply to be the Head Librarian for MYS, she wasn’t particularly interested. At the time, she had just been hired to work at a restaurant and thought, “Honestly, I want to work at the restaurant!” But the previous librarian, Tricia, who had recently been Murah’s TA for a music history class, believed Murah would be a great fit. She thought it over, recognizing that the position could give her valuable professional experience in a music organization. Ultimately, she decided to give it a chance. “I think I have to do this—it’s in my career field and it’s going to take me towards the things that I want to do,” she recalls. Expecting to perhaps stay at MYS for a year at most, Murah never imagined she would still be here four years later. “What surprised me most is that I’ve been here for four years. That definitely was not in the plans!”
The past four years have brought many instances when things didn’t quite go according to plan—including a particularly memorable April Fools’ Day in 2023. During her first season, when MYS was still rehearsing at Highland Middle School, Murah devised an elaborate prank: each orchestra would surprise its conductor at the first downbeat of rehearsal by playing something completely different from the planned repertoire. She prepared short arrangements of random songs like “Happy Birthday” and “Star Wars,” distributed them in advance, and coordinated with students to carry out the secret plan. Then April 1 arrived—and so did a major blizzard. Rehearsal was canceled, and the prank never happened. Murah jokes that MYS still has to wait a few more years before attempting the trick again. More importantly, though, the memory has stayed with her as a reminder of the unpredictability of life. “It reminds me a lot of what happens in life,” she reflects. Even the most carefully laid plans can change when the unexpected happens.
Since graduating from the University of Minnesota, Murah has spent the last three years navigating the graduate-school audition process. Because she graduated a semester early, her first spring was intended to be a practice round. With a semester free and no recital or other major commitments, it was an ideal time to take auditions, if only to learn more about the process. Although she decided not to enroll after that first year, the experience proved valuable. “That really set me up well for understanding the expectations and also not being fearful of the unknown,” she explains. The following year, she was far more prepared, and her new teacher, Lisa Sung, encouraged her to aim higher than she thought possible. Murah passed nearly all of her prescreenings and was preparing for three in-person auditions—but then her dad suffered a stroke. She canceled her auditions so she could assist her siblings in providing round-the-clock care for her father.
The third year, Murah was determined to try again. “Third time’s the charm—I really got to do this!” she says. By then, schools that had previously seemed like stretches had become her safety schools. She had a much deeper understanding of the process and, most importantly, greater confidence in her abilities. “I understood more about the playing field and what I could bring to the table to make me a better candidate,” she explains. Her teacher, Lisa, played a major role in that transformation, challenging Murah to rethink her approach to the viola, her practice habits, and the way she incorporated music into her everyday life. “Another year with Lisa really, really changed the way I approached my instrument.” That persistence ultimately led to acceptances at four dream schools—two in the U.S. and two in Switzerland. This week she is moving to Basel, Switzerland, to pursue graduate study in viola performance at the Hochschule für Musik Basel.
Murah’s move to Switzerland marks not only an exciting musical opportunity but also a chance to explore a part of her family’s heritage. Her mother is from Switzerland, which allowed Murah to obtain Swiss citizenship. After visiting Switzerland with her mom last summer, she became even more excited about the possibility of living there. “I always wanted to live abroad,” she says. “Seeing my mom’s love for her home country really opened my eyes.” At the Hochschule, her coursework will be offered in a combination of German and English, while she can choose the language of her private viola lessons. She chose English—although her professor speaks four languages! Orchestra rehearsals, meanwhile, will primarily be in German, giving Murah an additional challenge—and another opportunity to learn. “I’m super-duper excited to live in a new country and to learn culturally how to be a member—how to participate.”
While Murah is eager to embark on this new adventure, she knows there is plenty she will miss about MYS. “I will miss my colleagues the most,” she says. “My coworkers are some of the best people I’ve ever met in the professional world.” She credits MYS with shaping her understanding of the workplace and providing valuable mentorship. In particular, she is grateful to Aisling O’Sullivan Goel, former Operations Manager, who encouraged her during those difficult first few months and helped her recognize that she was capable of succeeding in a professional environment. The students, too, have been an important part of her experience. “I love seeing the kids every week and watching them grow,” she says, noting that one of her favorite projects has been designing the Senior slideshow each spring. Four years ago, Murah never would have dreamed she’d stay at MYS long enough to see so many students move through the program and toward bright futures of their own.
Although she is moving on for now, Murah isn’t ruling out becoming a music librarian again someday. Over the years, she has discovered that the work suits her in ways she never expected. “I didn’t expect to like it so much. I didn’t expect to find it so satisfying and interesting, and it’s constantly something new,” she reflects. Before saying her final goodbye, Murah also hopes to set the record straight on one aspect of her job. “The biggest misconception people have about my role as Music Librarian is definitely that I pick music,” she says with a laugh. “I don’t ever get to influence the repertoire in the slightest!” After four years of organizing, preparing, and managing the music that makes MYS possible, however, Murah has certainly left her own mark on this community.
