full bio

Ethan Hsu (b. 2008) is a composer and performer from Philadelphia, PA. His music obsesses over vibrant rhythms, harmonies, and meters that incorporate genre-bending idioms exploring the energy of the universe. His compositions are built upon the explorations and interactions between rhythm and texture, and take inspiration from a diverse range of sources, from literature, poetry, and ancient mythology to surrealist art and theme parks.

In the 2026-27 season, Ethan will write a new orchestral work for the Roxborough Orchestra in his second collaboration with the organization. He will also have an orchestral piece read by the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, a piece performed by Opera Italiana is in the Air in Central Park, and a vocal work performed by the New York Virtuoso Singers. He will have three new pieces performed for a senior recital at Juilliard, and will also premiere a 1-minute cello work with Eunice Koh as one of the youngest Vox Novus selected composers. Ethan was selected to participate in the New York Youth Symphony Composition Program, where he will work with Dr. Kyle Blaha and members of the New York Youth Symphony for a performance at National Sawdust in May 2027. Ethan was also selected to participate in the Orchestral + Solo Percussion Academy with David Moliner, where he will have a percussion piece performed on an international tour in the 27/28 season that includes the Elbphilharmonie Berlin.

His most recent projects include an orchestral work read by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America as one of two apprentice composers, a wind sextet performed in spaces around Usher Hall by members of the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra for the Edinburgh International Festival, and a string quartet performed and recorded by the Dolphins Quartet as part of their Young Composers’ Program.

Ethan’s orchestral work “Qilin”, for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, premiered to over 6,000 local students in grades 4-6. He also collaborated on a brass arrangement of Ivan Fischer’s Young Euro Classic Festival Hymn, which was broadcast live across Germany. In addition, his work has been featured on Symphony.org, CBS News, OperaWire, and Musical America, and has also been broadcasted on KMFA in Austin, TX.

Ethan is a YoungArts winner with distinction, and was awarded the William H. Banchs Prize in Composition. He won the Ballora-Wang Composers’ Prize in 2026 and first place in the Ruth Crawford Seeger Prize in 2024, as well as third prize in the American Prize. He has also received recognition from Vox Novus, the National Young Composers’ Challenge, the Pennsylvania Music Educators’ Association, and the National Association for Music Education. He is an alumnus of the American Composers’ Orchestra Summer Composition Intensive, the NowBeat Project, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Penn State Young Composers Institute, Jacobs Composition Academy, and Juilliard Summer Composition.

Ethan’s music has been presented at the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Heinz Hall, the New World Center, Carnegie Hall, Disney Springs, Central Park, Usher Hall in Scotland, and Rottenbiller Studio in Hungary. He has also had works performed by Deleuze New Music Collective, the Philadelphia Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, and students of Indiana University, Penn State University, and Georgia Southern University.

Ethan studies at the Juilliard Pre-College with Dr. Manuel Sosa and privately with Chris Rogerson. He also studies conducting with Dr. Oliver Hagen. He has received mentorship from composers Sean Shepherd, Pascal Le Boeuf, Maya Miro Johnson, Bobby Ge, Nico Muhly, and David Serkin Ludwig, among others. Ethan is also a cellist with a particular interest in contemporary music, previously studying with Rachel Henderson Freivogel, Christopher Fiore, and Yumi Kendall. Aside from music, Ethan is an avid roller coaster enthusiast, skier, and traveler.