On Friday, January 30th, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Mel Hsu will perform in Lang Concert Hall for the final installment of the Friday at Six series. The event will begin with a set of Hsu’s music on voice, cello, piano, and electronics, followed by a conversation between Professor Quinn Collins and Hsu that will open into a Q&A with the audience. 

Hsu began to find her artistic identity in high school, after she and her cello—affectionately named Charles—were denied entry into the jazz band. From then on, Hsu broke from musical convention, continuing to explore and expand her sound at Wesleyan University where she found inspiration in the collaborative process of music-making. In college, Hsu challenged the status quo, finding ways to play in the jazz orchestra “first by distorting Charles through an amp to sound more like a saxophone, and then eventually by picking up the double bass.”

Collins first encountered Hsu nearly a decade ago at a folk music series in West Philadelphia, where he watched her set “entirely of cello or guitar plus voice.” Years later, in 2024, he recognized her voice and work in the Wilma Theater's production of The Good Person of Setzuan, which Hsu co-composed and co-directed with Jordan McCree. 

From there, Collins explains, “I got interested in the way she was incorporating electronics into her setup and got curious about the way her work had developed.” He began to explore Hsu’s work online, which came to mind when planning the Friday at Six series. “I got the impression from the writing on her website that she’d be a great fit for a concert format which includes so much discussion and potential for audience interaction,” said Collins.

Hsu’s broad body of work transcends multiple mediums and formats. She was formerly a co-director at Girls Rock Philly, a youth-centered music organization dedicated to building an intergenerational community of girls, women, and trans and gender-expansive people. She won a Barrymore Award in 2018 for outstanding original music in the Almanac Dance Circus Theater’s production of Leaps of Faith and Other Mistakes. That same year, she played cello on Mac Miller’s Tiny Desk Concert, and most recently was the sound designer for the Arden Theater’s production of A Wrinkle in Time. She’s also released two solo albums, I Was a Phoenix (2016) and A Prayer for Broken Glass (2019).  

On A Prayer for Broken Glass, Collins says he is “especially interested in the way Mel processes and alters her voice.” Stylistically, the wordless backing vocals remind him of Steve Reich mixed with Cocteau Twins, and the jazz harmonies evoke Joni Mitchell. Additionally, perhaps due to Hsu’s extensive background in theater, Collins notes a distinct theatrical quality to her songwriting. Hsu’s ability to expand how the cello is played challenges the norms of the instrument and Collins hopes that Swarthmore students take away how “you can make non-classical music using [Western] instruments and be awesome at it.”

Friday at Six: Mel Hsu takes place on Friday, January 30th at 6pm in Lang Concert Hall. The performance is free and open to the public, no reservation required, with a reception to follow.