JOYCE FU SUNG

When I was 4 years old, my mom took me to Dr. Lam’s house. I was very shy and refused to say a SINGLE word, so Dr. Lam told me I wasn’t ready and needed to come back the next year. Luckily, I did, and Dr. Lam and piano became a big part of my life. From elementary school through high school, I placed in several OMTA competitions and a Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity competition. I was sad when Dr. Lam moved to New Jersey, but I continued my lessons with one of her former classmates, Robert Mayerovitch. I was involved in many different musical groups in high school, playing both piano and violin.

During my undergraduate years at Harvard College, I majored in biochemistry, but music continued to be a large part of my life. Even though my training was all in classical music, I also loved being a part of the pit orchestra in various musicals (West Side Story was one of my favorites!). I played piano and violin in several groups, I volunteered to teach piano to local community students, and I discovered singing, joining the Radcliffe Choral Society. I went on to medical school at University of Pennsylvania, did an Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Stanford, and completed my training with a Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship at Stanford. I am currently faculty at the University of Colorado Denver. Although I didn’t pursue music as a career, I am so grateful to Dr. Lam for all the great teaching and opportunities she gave me. The discipline and devotion I learned through piano studies helped me with the rest of my life. Most importantly, I will always have a deep love and appreciation for music. Even though my piano skills are a little rusty, I still love to play, especially chamber music with other friends. I’m now married and the mother of three kids, ages 4, 8, and 10. My kids take piano lessons, and I hope they get as much out of it as I did. Mostly, I want them to feel the satisfaction of working hard to master a skill, and to appreciate music. I love playing easy duets with them, and I still sit down and play for fun, when they are done practicing.