Susie performed Do You Hear What I Hear? on my latest Christmas EP For a Day. I met Susie after she graciously responded to my request for a Ukulele cover of my song Gotta Get Out. She posted it here on YouTube. She’s extremely gifted both vocally and ukulelely (can you make ukulele an adverb?).
I asked her a few questions to help you get to know her.
Susie Hirsch
Let’s get the basics out of the way. Who are you?
My full name is Susan Rachel Hirschfeld, but I go by Susie because “Susan” sounds far too serious. I am a senior at Calvin College in Grand Raipds, Michigan and am almost done with my Secondary Mathematics Education Major and Sociology Minor.
Why did you choose the Ukulele and not another instrument? It’s a rather forgotten instrument.
Well. . . that’s a valid question. Last year during the spring I was on a huge music kick with two aspiring artists who played the guitar beautifully, but occasionally would bring in a ukulele for their songs. I thought it was an interesting concept. I’d never even held a ukulele before, but I played guitar in middle and high school and decided it couldn’t be much harder. Furthermore, I knew that over the summer I’d be working at a camp and having a portable instrument seemed like a good idea! However, these reasons are overshadowed by the fact that finals at my college were slowly approaching, and I needed a productive and creative way to procrastinate. I usually pick up hobbies during finals time, and last year I decided I’d give the Uke a fair shot.
What do you hope your musical future will look like?
Right now I see God doing so much with music in my life, and to be completely honest I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with all of it! For the longest time I was trying to squelch music out of my life and keep it at a safe distance away from my career. I feared that if I did music for a living I would end up hating it. For reasons that only God knows right now, I am very sure that He wants music to be a significant part of my life. It took something as huge and excellent as going all the way out to Salt Lake City to record with Josh for me to realize this, but God finally got it through my head. As for the future, I have no specifics. I hope that God continues to work in my life as a musician so that I can spread His love. I also hope that God will grant me the ability to enjoy and produce music for a long time to come, whether that means trying to make it in the land of music or singing in my car. Only time will tell.
What do you think is the best song of all time and why?
This is a hard question – my mind changes all the time about music and I’m constantly obsessed with somebody new every week! However, I’d have to say if I had to pick one it would be Frank Sinatra’s version of “Come Fly With Me”. Frankie has such a classic voice and I love how he incorporates brass instruments! On any given day you can hear me whistling this tune down the halls of my school, singing along to it on my iPod when I’m grocery shopping, or belting it when I’m taking a shower!
What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Every year on Christmas Eve my family gets together with our old neighbors and spends the entire evening together. Between both of our families there’s around 15 people, so there is never a dull moment! Last year we played a version of charades together called Fishbowl. We had the most enjoyable, laughter filled evening that I can remember! But I guess that’s what happens when you put that many people together in a room who have known each other for over 20 years! I’m looking forward to making that game a new Christmas tradition!
You can purchase my song with Susie Hirsch on iTunes.
