Breaking Boundaries With Music

By University Communications

It’s a universal fact that music plays an important role throughout the world.

“Music communicates what we are not able to verbally,” said Dr. Minju Choi, assistant professor of music at Missouri State University. “It’s the common language we all share.”

Choi, a Juilliard-trained pianist, released her first album of piano works, “Boundless,” on Nov. 9.

When envisioning a title for her album, Choi wanted to convey a message of openness and the worldliness of music.

“I am Korean-American,” Choi said. “After growing up in two different cultures, I feel like I can fit in everywhere, but can’t quite belong anywhere. But different cultures don’t have to be a contradiction.”

“Boundless” was born from that idea. Choi wanted to embrace all cultures together, not separate.

“The composers are Americans. They were born here, but they’re all from different cultural backgrounds,” Choi said. “They have been influenced by those backgrounds and they incorporate that into their music.”

“Boundless” is made up of three contemporary works, including one commissioned work written for Choi. She recorded the album in July 2016 at the University of Indianapolis.

“We recorded for about eight hours a day for three days straight,” Choi said. “Keeping up the stamina to play for that long was the hardest part of creating the album.”

Choi is grateful for the time and effort she put into the project, along with the people who helped her along the way.

“The whole process was rewarding,” she said. “I’m glad I never gave up.”