Alumni Appreciation Month: Taesung Hwang '24 Working Across Arts & Technology
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(Left) Taesung Hwang '24 holds his winning Inductus instrument alongside Department of Music Professor Emeritus Christopher Dobrian.
Alumnus shows the possibilities of combining multiple passions
Department of Music alumnus Taesung Hwang '24 has carried his passion for merging arts and technology into life after UC Irvine. He works full-time as a software engineer, composes music for New Classics Ballet Theatre, a new dance company founded by Department of Dance alumni, and performs clarinet, oboe and percussion with the Amazon Symphony Orchestra.
That drive to merge disciplines took root during his senior year, when Hwang, who double-majored in computer science and engineering with a minor in linguistics, won first prize in E-SONIC, the Engineering-Symphonic Orchestra New Instrument Competition hosted by UCI's Samueli School of Engineering and Claire Trevor School of the Arts. As the only participant with an arts and engineering background, Hwang built the Inductus, an electromagnetic instrument played by tilting its tube to slide a magnet inside through coils of wire which trigger musical events.
"Being at UCI and around UCI Arts presented numerous opportunities for cross-disciplinary practice and collaboration that helped cultivate my skills and shape my interests," shared Hwang. "I'm incredibly grateful for such influential experiences, including serving as an executive board member and photographer for Bare Bones Dance Theater, lighting programmer for a Dance Escape showcase and sound designer for a choreography B.F.A. thesis, among others."
Hwang's advice for students? Stay open to the unexpected.
"Explore as much as possible during your time here, even things that seem unfamiliar," shared Hwang. "You never know which small activity, interaction or connection will spark your next great adventure."
To learn about UCI Arts’ alumni community, visit arts.uci.edu/alumni.
