Valerie Liu - Part 2

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 44: Valerie Liu (part 2)

Looking for a way to listen to diverse creators and to support equity in the arts? Tune in weekly to For Good Measure!

In this week’s episode, we talk to Valerie Liu about life as an Asian American woman composer and her career shift from nurse to composer after being a successful professional. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Valerie Liu, check her out here: www.valerieliumusic.com . Parts of this episode originally premiered on April 2022, found on Youtube, click here.

This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and generous donors, like you. Want to support For Good Measure and E4TT? Make a tax-deductible donation or sign up for our newsletter, and subscribe to the podcast!

Intro music: “Trifolium” by Gabriela Ortiz, performed by E4TT (Ilana Blumberg, violin; Abigail Monroe, cello; Margaret Halbig, piano),  as part of “Below the Surface: Music by Women Composers,” January 29, 2022
Outro music: “Lake Turkana” by Marcus Norris, performed by E4TT (Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Alchemy,” October 15, 2021

Transcription courtesy of Otter.ai.

Producer, Host, and E4TT co-founder: Nanette McGuinness
Audio Engineer: Stephanie M. Neumann
Podcast Cover Art: Brennan Stokes
Interns: Roziht Edwards and Merve Tokar

Chapters

• 0:30 Granted that there isn’t just one Asian-American experience nor one woman composer’s experience, how has being an Asian-American woman affected your life path?
• 4:05 You had a decade-long, thriving career as a nurse, but the siren call of music proved to be too strong. It must have taken immense courage, as well as being a wondrous combination of exciting and humbling, to retrain in a new field after being a...

Transcript

Nanette McGuinness: 0:00

[INTRO MUSIC] Welcome to For Good Measure, an interview series celebrating diverse composers and other creative artists sponsored by grant from the California Arts Council. I'm Nanette McGuinness, artistic executive director of Ensemble For These Times. In this week's episode, we continue our conversation with Valerie Liu, who we spoke to in April 2022[INTRO MUSIC ENDS]. Granted that there isn't just one Asian American experience, nor one woman composer's experience, how has being an Asian American woman affected your life path?

Valerie Liu: 0:39

A short did growing up in an Asian family. My parents desire us to be a doctor, a nurse, or a lawyer engineer, when we choose our profession, their strong influence definitely played a part. My brother used to study engineering, and I studied nursing. But eventually we both changed our career path. I studied music privately was encouraged or non formal. From their perspective, they think formally it was it was something you shouldn't do, it was greatly discourage because of its uncertainty in the job field. And its income on stableness. So it's actually kind of funny, because when I started studying music formally, I was doing a secretly while still working as a nurse, I didn't want to start a war at home, and I was a ready to tell them, because I know very, so I need to quit nursing completely so that I can focus 100% on my music study. I also know sometimes you can tell others prematurely about your plan, because they can stop it and tell you you can do it. So when I finally told them, it wasn't a pleasant time. But at that time, I was mentally prepared to stand by my decision. I already got accepted to an excellent grad school, I was about to quit nursing, I was certain this is something I want to do. Um, so to me, being an Asian American woman, you're expected to listen to your parents or relatives that are older than you. It does feel like that whenever I want to make major changes. It takes so much convincing to gather approval. And it's crazy that I've seen their approval so desperate. It took me a while to realize that it is okay not to get their approval. What's that saying that, like they're older, they have more life experiences. They are wiser. But I think that sometimes our experiences can offer hope. It can offer great insights. But it can also limit us where if we have negative experiences in the past, he can instill fear in us so strongly that we will just stream or something and but one proceed to make it a reality. Not to discredit those who have more experiences. But I think that what you're destined to do is more important than your past experiences. In my opinion, your purpose, our weights, everything. The danger is to settle the next best thing, but not the best thing in life.

Nanette McGuinness: 4:05

You had a decade long thriving career as a nurse, but the siren call of music proved to be too strong. It must have taken immense courage, as well as being a wondrous combination of exciting and humbling to retrain in a new field after being a successful professional. Can you talk about what that was like?

Valerie Liu: 4:27

Oh, okay, living there. Seeing familiar territory and entering it in territory is actually very scary for me. It's a bit uncomfortable at times, pursuing something new and something so different. It is it is very excited. However, when I decided to change my career, I did feel a strong calling into the music field at the same time Something else happened in my personal life sort of gave a further push. My dad just passed away. It was a dark time for me. I didn't have a good relationship with my father. I was hoping to improve the situation, some time in my lifetime. But it was too late. He passed away before I had a chance to do that. I wish I had done more human effort, and sooner than late. My, my father had a tough life. But he loved his job. He was a writer, a journalist. He lights up every time he talks about his work. I want to be like that, you know, doing something you love. Music is what I love. And I think my father is guiding me somehow as a mentor. Looking and remembering the way he immersed so deeply in his work gave me the courage to head towards a new direction.

Nanette McGuinness: 6:07

[OUTRO MUSIC] Thank you for listening to For Good Measure, and a special thank you to our guest, Dawn Norfleet for joining us today. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast by clicking on the subscribe button and support us by sharing it with your friends, posting about it on social media and leaving us a rating and a review. To learn more about E4TT Our concert season online and in the Bay Area where to make a tax deductible donation, please visit us at www.E4TT.org. This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and generous donors like you. "For Good Measure" is produced by Nanette McGuinness and Ensemble for These Times, and designed by Brennan Stokes. With special thanks to audio engineer extraordinaire Stephanie Neumann. Remember to keep supporting equity in the arts and tune in next week "for good measure." [OUTRO MUSIC ENDS]