Jean Foo, Music

Jean Foo

Jean Foo has used music to change lives on a global scale

Jean Y. Foo has accomplished a lot in twenty-five years. A native of Singapore, her piano, clarinet, marimba, violin and cello compositions have been played all over the world. In 2006, she became the first Singaporean chosen to be part of "Global Interplay," a program that brought together young composers from a number of different countries.

While these achievements are impressive, Foo accomplished something even more noteworthy last year. As a volunteer with the Magic Hospital, an international organization which works on behalf of underprivileged children, she helped bring the gift of music to children living in remote parts of China.

"When I joined the Magic Hospital, they didn't have a music program," says Foo, a music graduate student who is classically trained in the piano and the Guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument. "So I created a program which was aimed at sharing music with these children."

The program Foo developed benefited the sons and daughters of migrant workers living in rural China. Due to lack of funds, the migrant schools these children attended did not have the resources necessary to pay for music teachers or instruments-items that Foo and her fellow volunteers provided.

"When we were at the schools, we would provide basic music appreciation," says Foo, whose graduate studies are being supported by a GSAS scholarship. "We would have the kids do things like sing songs and play the instruments that we brought. At one school we visited, we played some compact discs of different music and the children just sat in their chairs staring into space. We couldn't understand why they were doing this. I tried to connect with them by asking them what they thought of the music, but I soon realized that many of the children hadn't heard music before."

In Foo's experience, what she saw wasn't unique, as many children living in Chinese villages experience little in the way of music education. She also notes that things are different in cities like Beijing, where a priority is placed on the study of music.

"The villages these children live in were far from cities and, because of this, necessities like food were taken care of first," says Foo, who worked full time as a writer and translator for Gramophone Magazine (China) while she was a Magic Hospital volunteer.

"I remember going to one school where the children had milk for the first time a few weeks before we arrived. Because of this focus on primary needs, the spiritual needs of the children were often overlooked and they were not exposed to things like music." While Foo is no longer visiting schools in China, she is still involved with Magic Hospital, helping it with proposals, grant applications, and referrals on an occasional basis.

As a graduate student, Foo is working closely with Associate Professor John McDonald, who she says is one of the best advisors she has ever worked with. She is also involved in a number of volunteer activities such as the Tufts China Care Program, which matches orphans from China with families in the United States, and is part of a newly formed student group, the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. The committee, which includes graduate students, undergraduates, alumni, and faculty, helps advise the Tufts Board of Trustees on ways to use the university's endowment to best exemplify Tufts' commitment to active citizenship, social causes and community outreach.

Foo plans to pursue a career in composing and research. She would also like to continue the work she started with the Magic Hospital.

"Other than composing and lecturing, a major long-term goal of mine is to design and implement differentiated music curricula, especially that which can be used on a large scale for underprivileged children and those from traumatic backgrounds," says Foo. "I have a passion for music and humanitarian work, and maybe one day I'll be the music program designer for a global humanitarian organization."

This article is part of a series profiling graduate students who have received financial support from the Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering.

Photo by Melody Ko