By Nina Huang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Siow often describes her profession as a decorator of time.
“I decorate your time—I wanted to learn more about this art form,” she said.
For Taiwanese violinist Dr. Selina Siow, music is about more than performing the notes written on a page. It’s about connecting with audiences and creating an experience that people can interpret in their own way.
A recent graduate of the University of Washington (UW)’s Doctor of Musical Arts program, Siow is building her career in Seattle, performing with different orchestras, teaching students, and finding opportunities to bring music into the community.
Unconventional beginnings
Selina Siow (Photo credit: Erika Pierson)
Born in Taiwan in 1983 to a Taiwanese mother and Malaysian father, Siow moved to Hong Kong when she was young because of her father’s job. She grew up there, attending school from elementary through high school.
Her introduction to music started with piano lessons, which her mother encouraged her to take.
Siow remembers watching a musician perform on television in a fancy suit and imagining herself doing the same thing one day.
Her piano teacher’s best friend happened to be a violin teacher, who suggested that Siow try the instrument. She started violin lessons when she was 10.
Like many young musicians, Siow had her fair share of ups and downs with the instrument.
There were times she loved it and other times when she didn’t want to practice. But joining youth orchestras in Hong Kong changed her relationship with music.
She began to appreciate not only the performance aspect, but also the community that came with it, making friends and connections through a shared love of music.
Although Siow was the only person in her immediate family to pursue music, she said her mother was an important role model.
Her mother relocated with the family to Macau and Hong Kong. Despite not speaking Cantonese initially, her mother learned the language and eventually became fluent.
Watching her mother navigate different cultures and adapt to unfamiliar environments gave Siow confidence to pursue opportunities outside of what she knew.
The pursuit of music
Photo credit: Erika Pierson
After completing her bachelor’s degree in music education at the Education University of Hong Kong, Siow initially had the qualifications to pursue a career teaching music in elementary school.
However, she still wanted to perform.
She enjoyed connecting with audiences and wanted to continue developing as a musician, so she decided to take a gap year and explore graduate programs in the United States.
In 2017, she moved to Chicago to attend the Chicago College of Performing Arts. The transition was challenging, particularly because English was not her first language.
“It was challenging and hard,” she recalled, describing the experience of having to navigate school and everyday life in a different language.
She completed her master’s degree and continued her performance studies, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit during her second year of pursuing a performance diploma. She eventually moved back to Hong Kong in 2020.
Looking back, she considers the time with her family a blessing in disguise.
Her teacher at the time encouraged her to continue pursuing music and apply to other schools. After receiving several offers, Siow had to decide where to continue her education.
She considered the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and the University of Washington, among other programs. Her teacher thought she was a city girl and would enjoy Seattle more.
Siow trusted her teacher’s advice and moved to Seattle in 2021 to begin her doctoral studies at UW. She graduated in December 2025.
Bringing people together through music
Photo credit: Erika Pierson
One of the biggest reasons she wanted to pursue a doctorate was her love of performing and the experience of sharing music with an audience.
Her favorite part is when audience members approach her after a concert to tell her how much they enjoyed the performance.
Siow said she loves the intimate way music allows people to connect without being invasive. Everyone can interpret a piece differently. One person might hear something joyful, while another might have an entirely different emotional response.
As a violinist, she sees herself as a vessel between the composer and the audience, taking what the composer has written, adding her own interpretation, and presenting it through her instrument.
She said there is so much creative energy that flows through a concert hall, something she finds fascinating and difficult to replicate in other art forms.
This past October, Siow played in about 10 concerts, and even more are planned for the holiday months, including The Nutcracker with the Tacoma City Ballet. Siow plays with different orchestras week to week while maintaining a teaching schedule as well.
Today, Siow loves the variety of her work, though it took a little bit for her to get her career started.
After graduating with her doctorate degree last year from the UW, she panicked because she didn’t know what to do. Then she ended up organizing her curriculum vitae and sent it out to different orchestras and concertmasters in the region.
Siow shared that the music community in Seattle is supportive and a really great community.
The power of music
She put herself out there—eventually finding consistent work and doing a variety of things, including community service.
One of Siow’s most memorable experiences was performing for a memory care facility. She was invited to play for the patients there even though they may not remember the details. Siow had a great time nevertheless.
She performed songs from the 1970s and 1980s as a solo violinist. When she started playing the music, audience members began humming the melodies, and some sang the lyrics.
“I thought, if that’s not the power of music, then I don’t know what is. I remember leaving the facility that day, thinking, I don’t think they’ll remember the concert, but I think they’ll remember how I made them feel,” she said.
Siow added, “That’s exactly why I want to do what I do. That one definitely touched my heart.”
Siow is also inspired by the women in the orchestra. She’s been seeing a lot more women conductors and enjoys watching them take on leadership roles.
“I love seeing a woman in power. They know how to give an extra sense of security and I look up to those women,” Siow said.
Anthony Spain, music director of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, met Siow when he was guest conducting in Hong Kong several years ago.
“I was immediately impressed with her technical capabilities and artistry, even though she was such a young violinist at the time. It has been wonderful to reconnect with her many years later, now that she is living in Seattle, and it is a joy to have her as a violinist in the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. With her depth of experience, kindness as a person, and leadership skills, she is highly respected and appreciated by myself and those around her,” Spain shared.
Siow hopes to continue growing her studio and performing as much as she can. Eventually, she would like to start a music program or festival. She’d also like to start her own orchestra organization to gather people and see how music can connect everyone.
Though Siow is still searching for her own cultural identity, she identifies as a proud Taiwanese, despite not having grown up there.
“I don’t necessarily know the specific train stations in Taiwan, but that reminds me that although I identify as Taiwanese, I may not feel like that all the time. But that’s what makes me me, I can fit in different cultures,” she said.
Nina can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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