“I am grateful to have had a life full of music"
An artist, scholar, teacher, and a remarkably generous man, John T. Hsu is recognized as one of the leading pioneers in the period instrument movement and a performer who thrilled audiences for decades with his artistry, expressiveness, and eloquence. As a grateful recipient of a 1711 Tecchler cello, Hsu understood the enormous impact such a beautiful instrument could have on a promising young musician. He donated the Tecchler cello to NEC in 1999 “so that future deserving cello students would have the opportunity to develop their art and expand their musical imagination.”
In this spirit, his wife, Martha R. Hsu, established a bequest by naming NEC as a beneficiary of her IRA. These funds will endow the John T. Hsu Scholarship Fund, continuing Mr. Hsu's legacy and ensuring that NEC’s tradition of musical excellence endures.
“His gratitude was from the heart,” Martha Hsu explains. “He was very mindful about giving back, of recognizing the help he had gotten along the way and wanting to help others the way he was helped.” Recognized as an Outstanding Alumni, Hsu earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at NEC, and in 1971 Gunther Schuller awarded him the Honorary Doctorate alongside Arthur Fiedler and Coretta Scott King. This scholarship in his name is truly meaningful, as Hsu recalled his time in Boston as “full of marvels.”
Claire Deokyong Kim ’21 performs with the 1711 Tecchler Cello donated to NEC by John T. Hsu.