BIO
John Christopher Lo was an only child who was born in London. Both his parents were teachers, and his father, in particular, was an Episcopal priest and boarding school headmaster. At age six, he moved to Australia with his family and received his bachelor’s degree in music through Deakin University. During his transition to college, he switched from playing the piano to the organ. Lo moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in choral conducting from Florida State University and came to Houston for a doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Houston. While he was a doctoral student, Lo was selected to be the music director of the World Vision Youth Ambassadors tour. Currently, Lo is involved in the Foreign Policy Association’s Rice Village Great Decisions chapter. In this interview, Lo talks about his perspectives on service, how his Christian roots have influenced him, and his journey in pursuing music as a full time career. He discusses his experiences as an Asian living in Australia during significant political strife including the Vietnam war and the White Australia Policy. Lo also compares the differences in the educational systems in America and Australia, particularly in connection with how music is taught at different academic stages. Lo speaks about the challenges he faced when pursuing his doctoral studies and the lessons he learned as a result. Diving into his current interests, Lo discusses what made him interested in foreign policy and his perspectives on being ethnic Chinese.