Some students struggle to balance studying, extra curricular activities and free time; however, Shoji Moto, sophomore in Engineering, has been able to balance his school life while being a rising sensation on YouTube.

Moto has always had a passion for playing the piano and coming to the University inspired him to compose and play more.

“I’ve been taking piano lessons since I was 4 years old,” Moto said. “Since I’ve been in college, I haven’t been taking lessons, but last year, I decided to write some arrangements and do some covers and put them on YouTube.”

Unlike most pianists, Moto doesn’t stick to one genre when he plays. He uploads many different genres to his YouTube channel because he likes making sheet music for songs that don’t already have it.

“I like looking at the comments sometimes, and I’ll see people say, ‘I’ve been looking for sheet music for this song and have never found it!’ So it’s nice that I can do that for them,” he said.

His favorite thing to do is arrange soundtracks for film and video games. He said they convey more emotions than music played on the radio, allowing him to be more creative when arranging it for the piano.

Despite his busy school schedule and music practices, he still makes time to be involved in a few organizations. He helps run SIGMusic, which focuses on connecting music with technology. He is a developer for the Reflections | Projections conference and is also involved with the Asian American Association.

Through the AAA, he has had the opportunity to perform at several events and found a collaborator along the way.

Moto participated in a talent show with his friend Daniel Choi, sophomore in Engineering and another member of the AAA.

Choi’s roommate was friends with Moto and introduced them. When they learned they were both passionate about music, they decided to collaborate. For the AAA talent show, they performed “I Like Me Better” by Lauv and “Fix You” by Coldplay. Moto played the piano as Choi sang.

Choi also has been practicing music for many years.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve really enjoyed singing, and the first music-related thing that I did was Opera, and I went to tournaments in Korea, and ever since that point, I just started singing a lot,” Choi said. “I would sing in the shower, in the car, and a few years back, I really got into making my own music and doing covers.”

He said school has caused him to delay making more music. Moto gave him the opportunity to start up again, and at their recent collaboration with the talent show, they won third place together.

Both Moto and Choi said they want to continue working together and making music in future, but find it difficult with their busy schedules.

However, Moto has also been able to collaborate with Emily Lee, freshman in Education. Lee participates in the a capella group No Comment.

Moto met Lee through the same talent show he and Choi participated in together. After the show, he messaged her on Facebook and asked if she would like to collaborate at some point.

“I was super excited to hear that because I’ve always wanted to be creative and create content, and so we’ve collaborated and worked on some stuff,” Lee said. “It was definitely unexpected having him message me, but it was him and he was amazing, so it was an honor.”

Lee said though she is a student in Education, she would not mind  making a career out of music. She said it has been a dream of hers and working with Moto is a good place to start. She said since he has been successful, collaborating with him might help her reach her goals.

“Shoji is very, very nice to work with. He’s extremely patient, smart, he has a good ear, and he always asks me if I have a vision for whatever we’re about to work on together,” Lee said. “He’s great with putting that into place and having it come true. I really enjoy working with him a lot, and he’s just amazing.”

Moto plays, writes and edits music. He said he only has one goal in mind when doing it all.

“I would have to say my goal is to just make people happy with what I’m playing,” Moto said.

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