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Liz Kay
Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I'm your host, Liz Kay, and I'm joined by producer Chris Judge of the Class of 2005 here in the Providence College Podcast. We bring you interesting stories from the Friar family. This week, we're chatting with Hashem Hassan, who was born in New York but grew up in Doha, Qatar, where he was a founding member of that country's youth orchestra.

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Liz Kay
He moved to Providence to study violin with Laura Gulley at Providence College. Hasan is majoring in music, technology and production and is a soloist with the Providence College Orchestra. As an MLK scholar, he's been able to work with artists from multicultural backgrounds in a variety of disciplines. Christian, thanks so much for joining us.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Thanks, Liz. Happy to be here.

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Liz Kay
So your childhood seems really intriguing. Can you tell us about the community where you grew up in? Sure.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yes. So like you had already mentioned, I was born in New York, but quickly moved over to the Middle East. And I spent two years in Oman. But I don't remember much of that. I was three years old and then my mom and I moved to Qatar. And the way the school system works in Qatar is the majority of schools are international schools because the majority of the population is not Qatari.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And so I went to an international school that was British based. So the curriculum is the same curriculum that you'd find in England. And I met a lot of Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, not so many North Americans, because I suppose they gravitate towards like the American Embassy school, right? That would make sense there. But because I'm always or when I was younger, I was always mixing with other people and cultures and that was normal to me.

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Hashim Hassan '23
I'd go to somebody's house and have no idea what they're cooking or why they do something like that, or they may be being yelled at in another language. And I'm just saying they're like, Oh, okay, that's normal. And so that's probably one of my favorite things of my childhood is that although it's faced with tons of different cultures, backgrounds and practices, it was all normal to me.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And I think that has helped me maintain an open mind as an adult.

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Liz Kay
Absolutely. And so when when did you start playing the violin?

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Hashim Hassan '23
So I started playing the violin when I was five. And when you're that little you can ask any musician, the parent picks the instrument for you. And so my mother chose the violin because she wanted to learn the violin when she was younger and as a kid and as a older kid and as a pre-teen, as a teen, I didn't like the violin.

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Hashim Hassan '23
I was maybe like 15, 16 until I really started to enjoy it. And that's because as a kid, I didn't want to sit and focus and work hard on something. I just wanted to play and have fun and, you know, do okay in my classes. But one day I come into my violin, my violin lesson with my teacher, and he says, Romanian, Romanian men.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And I had just come back from soccer practice. So you can imagine me like, yes, soccer practice, amazing violin. So I walk into it and he says, All right, today, you know, you had a good recital, whatever now. So I'm to learn a new piece. And so he goes into the corner of his room, and in the corner of this room, he has this large cabinet and they shelves kind of have different difficulties of music.

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Hashim Hassan '23
The bottom two or like the elementary or the beginner music. And the higher you go, it's more advanced. So I see him reach for a higher shelf and I'm like, Oh, cool. And he pulls out this piece and he says, All right, this is what I'm going to be doing. Let me play it for you. And he played it.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And the the the feeling that I had after he had finished playing was a feeling that has since stuck with me, a feeling that I want to create. And other people, when they listen to me perform. And since that day I say, Oh, I want to sound like that. I want to be a violin.

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Liz Kay
What was the piece? What was the piece that inspired you?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah, the piece is the Baroque Violin Concerto in D Minor and starts eerie and mysterious. And as it grows and grows and goes on, it becomes unstable. And it's like a ship in in turbulent waters. And you think everything's fine and fine, but eventually the ship, you know, turns over and sinks. And that's. That's my analogy for the piece.

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Hashim Hassan '23
It's really something beautiful.

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Liz Kay
And were you able to work, you know, with that inspiration? Were you able to master it and.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Then not able to master it yet? I am able to perform it to the degree that I can. However, that's something that I revisit every every few years, you know, because you work on it at stage one. But of course you have to work on other things and develop your skill. And so it's nice to revisit music that I've learned in the past and see, okay, how does it sound now that I've developed my my boat speed or weight or control of of whatever?

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Hashim Hassan '23
So soon, probably in another year, it's time for me to revisit that again and I look forward to it.

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Liz Kay
Really give it another try.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah.

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Liz Kay
I'm curious what your practicing schedule was like that and how many hours you've put in. I mean, this is something that I feel like we talk about. Yeah, trained musicians, of course.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So I mean, as as a kid, it was my mom who was who was very stern on me practicing. And so, you know, it was minimum an hour a day, you know, as a kid which which is the standard like it should be more. And if it's closer to concert date or exam date, then, you know, those hours naturally will increase.

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Hashim Hassan '23
But once I got to P.S., you know, a PC, you have to balance everything. It's a liberal arts college, so you need to have time for your philosophy class. You need to have time for the civ class, but you also need to have time for practicing. And what's funny is that that's not necessarily built into your schedule as much because a professor will tell you, well, you know, if you have a three credit class, you should be studying this amount of time, right?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Per credit. These are the hours. And my violin class only counts for one and a half credits. However, by far that's the most time I spend in any of my classes. And at one point, you know, it sucks when you have to fluctuate between lots of time and little bit of time, but I would say on average it would range from 2 to 3 and a half hours a day, depending on on any given day.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And the the best way to go about it is, of course, you know, you break it up. If you can have an hour in the morning, an hour in the afternoon and maybe 2 hours a night, that's ideal. So that's how much time I would say goes into practicing.

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Liz Kay
So let's talk a little bit about what brought you to Providence in Providence College or how did that how that connection happened?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah. So when I was a senior in high school, you know, in Qatar, I was looking at colleges and universities and either Europe or America. Europe, because of affordability in America, because I had just felt that maybe I returned home and sat tests are only something that's really practiced in America. And so I remember we had some sort of ambassador come to our school and say, okay, well, here are SATs and the whole class was like, We're not doing that.

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Hashim Hassan '23
But I still wanted to go to school in America. So I did research on test optional schools and P.S. was on the list. And so I looked at the website, I looked on Google images. I said, okay, you know, have a music program, Cool Campus looks nice. And I applied and months later I hear back from them and they offer me the MLK scholarship.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And sure, it looks great on paper. I'm like, Wow, scholarship, amazing. And then I do research into it and what it means. And I said, Oh, okay, this this may be what's best for me. And it has been.

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Liz Kay
And so you're are you also training with your instructor off campus? How does that work?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yes. So my violin teacher, Laura Gulley, she's not a, uh, like affiliated with PC, but she'll come to campus and we'll do our lessons on campus. Right before I came in, there was another violin student, and she has taught her for, I think, three years. So that's how that works in the music department. If there's a French horn list that is looking to continue taking lessons, they will contact, most likely the problems orchestra and and find a teacher through there.

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Liz Kay
This you just described one element of culture shock about the Sadies and Johnny navigated that and avoided it. Yes, skillfully. Thank you. Thank you for that. What what are some other experiences or examples of culture shock you might have experienced? You know, coming to the States for the first time for school?

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Hashim Hassan '23
I mean, it's funny, there's some little ones and some grander ones. So perhaps I like something. Something sentimental is like the eyelash, right? A If you see an eyelash that's on your face, you take it, you blow and you make a wish. And I had no idea of that concept. I was thinking, Why are you what? What is that?

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Hashim Hassan '23
That you're doing? So little things like that, you know, I'll see in class, you know, or just mannerisms of people. I'm like, Oh, okay. And I try to take a mental note of that because nothing I try not to say that's weird, that's just different. And, you know, I would like to know what what that is. Bigger ones can probably be like in the grander sense of what is America.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Because Cotard like, the leadership system is different. You have a monarchy and here it's a democracy. And so what goes on on the leadership level? But also what goes on among people? And how do people talk about a taboo topics, whether it be political, religion or like how a family should be structured? So many things like that have spawned wonderful conversation.

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Liz Kay
I'm curious because Qatar is obviously a predominantly Muslim.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yes.

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Liz Kay
Nation, and I'm curious what it was like for you to come to Providence College is a Catholic institution.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Um, I remember during that that campus I had already been accepted as a student because I couldn't come and do the tours. So I was getting my tours maybe three days before classes started. And I see that in the distance. Three men wearing what looks to me to be white robes. And I'm like, Uh, excuse me. I was asking my orientation leader what is who are they?

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Hashim Hassan '23
And so then I was explaining that they're, they're friars, they're wearing habits. This is a Catholic institution. I was like, Oh, I didn't know that I it was Christian. But I do know that like Dominican Friars, that's what Providence Colleges. And so, you know, taking to theology classes, taking all that said, you get to really be walking through Catholic philosophy and theology and what it means to be a good Catholic because I know what it means to be generalized, what a Catholic does and what they believe in.

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Hashim Hassan '23
But to look and appreciate how they go about their lives is is something that I would not have gotten anywhere else.

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Liz Kay
You sort of walk this interesting line because obviously you're a U.S. citizen, but you lived internationally, so you're an international student. Yeah. And so like the orientation you referenced, that was the international student orientation, Or would you just come to the August orientation?

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Hashim Hassan '23
So I had to I had a presentation program, and that was actually the transitions, the multi ethnic pre orientation program. And then of course I did regular orientation that happened during in between those two actually, because I took some time away from transition. So I can see what the campus is like and then I flip flop back and forth.

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Liz Kay
So we've talked a little bit about Civ. It's the four semesters of the development of Western civilization program that every PC student. Right, for better or worse. So some appreciate it more than others. Can you tell us about your civ experience and your civ colloquium? Mm hmm.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So the Civ colloquium, that was the final semester of Civ, and I opted to take the autobiography and creative writing section. And there you got to study how to kind of tell your story. And we read. We read many, many authors. But the largest takeaway, I would say, is incorporating Civ survivors. I mean, you can put on different hats on Civ, right?

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Hashim Hassan '23
And one of my favorites to look at is history, because you try to really start from the beginning. And by the time you get to the 21st century and you're reading Beyonce's autobiography, you're like, How has storytelling changed from from tablets to to music videos? And and people consume people have consumed information differently. And trying to take that from Civ understanding why that is.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And how that's changed, to apply that to my own story and make it effective so that people will be interested in listening to my story or listening to my music and so on.

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Liz Kay
Let's talk a little bit about your music technology, Major. Yeah, What led you to choose that?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Major So back in high school I was always thinking, you know, it'd be really cool to study music tech, right? Not knowing exactly what it was. It just sounded cool. Oh, I get to P.C., and I do a year of music major, but I'm hearing whispers that, Oh, we're developing a music technology and production major. So I'm like, Yeah, I would definitely be interested in that.

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Hashim Hassan '23
The following year it comes out as official and me and one other classmate, Optus, which are major to that and it's so great because music tech entails a whole lot of things, like from recording to making music to writing music specifically for certain types of groups or ensembles. One of my favorites is writing for for visual media, but if I didn't offer that major, I wouldn't have gotten those skills.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And although violin is my primary goal, I can always do violin. I could be a math major and I could still be practicing violin as much as I do. But the music tech having that the professor really guide you through what's going on. It's essential to me.

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Liz Kay
We can't record an episode of the podcast with a musician without sharing some examples of their work. How can you tell us about the piece we're going to be listening to next? Sure.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So this first selection came from my senior recital and I'm a classically trained violinist for the most part, and I've always wanted to play the Mozart Concerto. And so this is from Mozart Concerto number five, and this is the second movement cadenza. And the cadenza is actually now written by Mozart himself. The cadenza is added for for style and to heighten the music, if you will.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And it was written by another famous solo violinist probably about like 90 years ago. And I would say to this day that that music has been the most difficult that I've approached so far. And so although it's not perfect, it is something I'm proud of and I could not have done without the help of Laura Gulley and other PC faculty that have guided me along the way.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So to.

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Liz Kay
Wow. So that was beautiful.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Thank you.

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Liz Kay
And as a music tech major, you had the opportunity to create some original compositions of your own too. Can you give us the background for the next piece?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah. So what I mentioned a few minutes ago, speaking about one of my favorite things of the music tech is writing for visual media, and a professor came to us, Dr. Longo. He wanted to create a real life scenario for us, saying that, look could be writing for a studio and they could just give you some notes, they could give you a film, a film script, and they need you to produce something and you have no idea what the visual cues are.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So he gave us these sparking notes, spotting notes of what would be an interview, and he signed everyone in motion. And my emotion is dangerous. And so it starts with the person in the car. He's on the phone. I'm on my way to my interview and I feel dangerous. So he drives, he gets into the parking lot, he gets out the car and he's marching onwards.

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Hashim Hassan '23
He enters the building and the secretary hardly looks up to him and says, you know, sit in the waiting room. So I says, Oh, okay, sure. He sits down in the waiting room and he's waiting. But he waits and waits to the point where he almost feels forgotten. And then the secretary says, okay, he'll see you now. And he gets up and he feels reinvigorated again, but he sits down and same thing.

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Hashim Hassan '23
The boss pretty much forgets about him at the very end. It's the danger. It's all pent up. And that's the scene.

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Liz Kay
Let's take a listen. Uh, so.

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Hashim Hassan '23
I'm sure you can hear the the rage at the end.

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Liz Kay
You definitely, definitely felt the danger. Yes.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Great.

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Liz Kay
So it's tell us a little bit about how you produced that work.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Sure. So we use this software called ProTools, and it's the most common software across professionals, although there are other ones like logic. And we start with typically you'll want to start with just one instrument. All these instruments are MIDI and our digitalize, but it's really easy to write on the piano. So you'll start with the piano and you'll write perhaps either the harmony or the melody lines, and then you can flesh it out both to a project like this, because it's supposed to be paired with a visual media and you have the spotting notes, you have to time everything.

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Hashim Hassan '23
So you know, somebody opens the door at zero 45 and you really want to build it up and line it up exactly too, to the tee. And having that target is is perhaps what motivated me to do it quite well. Because when you write an instrumental composition, so what's driving that is simply your own musical vision. But now you rewrite it to be paired with something else and say, okay, what is my vision to how this is perceived versus just creating everything from the ground up?

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Liz Kay
So as you look back on your four years, what have been some of your favorite memories and experiences at PC? Were there any performances that stand out? Anything else?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah, um, performance wise, I'd say my favorite was the, the awkward one of the orchestra performances I did. And that's because the conductor and I, along with the rest of the ensemble, really had a strong semester and we enjoyed every, every minute working together, even if we were tired. And it was 930 at night, we just enjoyed making music.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Um, but perhaps something I should really highlight was transitions, because, you know, transitions happens for one week and you know, it's up in the air if you really want to interact with all those people throughout your four years. But, um.

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Liz Kay
And this is the pre orientation process you referenced earlier. That's right. Particularly for multicultural students. That's right.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And in my house now there's five of us and four of us did transitions, right? And we've been friends since freshman year and, and here we are graduating knowing that we'll have these relationships in the future. And I'm big on on that. If you have the right people here, you can go through anything in life and enjoy it.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And so, I mean, PC is already enjoyable experience, but I had so many strong people who we each other wanted to see everybody succeed, but also at the same time we could just enjoy our company with with no pressure. So I would say transitions have to pay a lot of homage to transitions. And of course the music that I that I do.

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Liz Kay
At Transitions, it sounds like really put you on the right path.

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Hashim Hassan '23
It did. And believe me, nobody wants to wake up at 8 a.m. and go to this ice breaker event. But looking back, I'm grateful that I did.

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Liz Kay
Can you tell us a little bit about your future plans?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah, absolutely. So I'm looking to become a professional violinist and I want to enter a concert conservatory and end 2025. And so I'm taking some time off and I'm going to go to Montreal for a year and study under a violinist over there and my intention is that by the time I come back, I'll be in a much better position to to enter conservatories.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And at the moment I've been speaking to professors at New England Conservatory at McGill University to see what exactly is required of a student of that caliber. And I would like to continue writing music. However, I want to be a violinist first before I branch out to composition.

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Liz Kay
But this sounds like it's going to be pretty intense year.

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Hashim Hassan '23
It will be, and I actually look forward to it because, you know, sitting down with yourself and focusing on on the little details, whether it be on my instrument or, you know, personal self, self-growth are always the most rewarding for me.

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Liz Kay
It feels like you've come a long way from that was those years before that inspiring moment with your teacher?

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yes, absolutely. I mean, again, as a as a 15 year old, I didn't want to sit down and think about the little details like that.

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Liz Kay
But now.

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Hashim Hassan '23
But now I love it. That's all I want to do.

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Liz Kay
So with so much of your life centered on music, very curious what genres you enjoy listening to in your spare time, what's on your playlist?

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Hashim Hassan '23
It's a very good question. Typically, it's funny that Spotify has the Spotify wrapped at the end of the year, and my number one, two and three will typically be pieces that have been studying like all year in the top 1% of Mozart Violin Concerto on my block.

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Liz Kay
That makes sense. But who else is listening to it exactly?

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Hashim Hassan '23
But for more and more popular music, I've actually been listening to a lot of Nirvana and a ton of rock as well. Not so specific, of course. The Beatles are there. I do quite enjoy the Rolling Stones and then Bossa Nova. You can play any bossa nova jazz too, but I really enjoy bossa nova. Just have it in the house.

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Hashim Hassan '23
And that's if I'm listening to bossa nova. I need to take a breath. So Noronha, bossa nova and I'll say the Rolling Stones.

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Liz Kay
So a lot of classic rock like.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Yeah, you know, these Rolling Stones.

00;25;54;20 - 00;25;58;02
Liz Kay
But I can't. I don't know anyone who doesn't like bossa nova like you. It's just.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Beautiful, relaxed.

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Liz Kay
Universally appreciated. Yes. Oh, yes.

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Hashim Hassan '23
That's Art.

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Liz Kay
House. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

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Hashim Hassan '23
Thank you for having me.

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Liz Kay
Subscribe to the Province College podcast and all the usual places, including iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify, as well as your smart speaker. If you like what you hear, please review and share with others. Thanks for listening and go Friars. Go Friars.