TXST physics professor finds harmony between science and music

For Hunter Close, Ph.D., physics and music are both domains with a lot of creative opportunities, especially when it comes to thinking “differently.”

While one is thought of as logic, precision, and the pursuit of certainty, and the other associated with emotion, expression, and creativity, to Close, an associate professor of physics at Texas State University, both “are ultimately about beauty, form, meaning, and life as a human being.”

“In physics as in music, things fit together,” Close says. “On an abstract level, they both have the beauty of harmony.”

The physicist has spent the last 15 years at TXST teaching a broad range of courses, from introductory mathematical physics to graduate quantum mechanics, and inspiring students to allow themselves to be multidimensional in their studies, interests, and pursuits.  

But in recent years, another part of his identity moved back into the center of his life: music.

Long before he earned his doctorate in physics, Close was drawn to music. He remembers becoming interested after listening to his parents’ old records of The Beatles and Paul Simon, and watching MTV in the early 1980s: “I felt like I was witnessing musicians explore the meaning of life in a thousand ways.” Scientific curiosity came later, when he encountered physics as a junior in high school and felt a similar kind of excitement. But by his senior year, he felt a pressure that many students know well: which passion was he supposed to pursue? 

Physics won at the time for Close as he noted that it was enjoyable, mysterious, fundamental, and also practical.  

Close went all in on science, building a career around the discipline of physics and teaching. However, music remained a part of his life, albeit not always the part that had the most room to grow. There were weekend performances and jam sessions for the trombone player, but his artistic hunger would not be satiated. Then, during COVID, the music bug began calling again in a way he could not ignore.

Close would wake up early with dreams of the Bach Cello Suites, stirred to pick up his horn. What began as a quiet internal nudge eventually became undeniable.  

Close was serendipitously led to an open chair opportunity in the Texas State Jazz Lab Band, which he took, and realized he needed to continue forward with his ambitions. He eventually applied to the Master of Music program with a jazz performance concentration at Texas State.

But the process was not effortless. “It was challenging for my brain to switch gears from teaching physics to rehearsing music ten minutes later,” said Close. That adjustment from the role of professor to the role of student was a bit overwhelming at first and required humility. Close said he wanted the TXST music community to understand that he was there to learn music, not to be recognized for his rank in another field.

There was also adjusting to a different kind of discipline. While physics is precision and the pursuit of a clear answer, jazz asked something else of him.

“It was a challenge to move from physics to music. In physics, I can keep modifying my work until it feels perfect, but because jazz happens in real time, the ‘mistakes’ are part of the product and shape what happens next. I had to learn to allow it to come out as it came out.” 

That lesson changed more than the way he played. It changed the way he thought about teaching. “Music helped me feel better about making mistakes in my teaching practice and connecting with my students’ experience as human beings.”

It also gave him a deeper appreciation for meeting learners where they are. “Being in the music program positively affected me. The faculty encouraged every student at the level they were at. It’s brilliant to see how much they paid attention to what every student’s skill level was and designed experiences to help them grow,” said Close. That approach resonated with him as a physics faculty member.  

At TXST, he brought the two worlds together in practical ways, including teaching musical acoustics to sound recording technology students. The course allowed him to connect scientific concepts such as pitch, reverberation, and overtones with the musical experiences students were already exploring. In these classes, physics became less abstract and music a doorway into understanding the physical world.

Still, Close resists reducing his interpretation of music to physics or vice versa. “This is what I’ve learned. I don’t have any business saying what the universe is absolutely. My business is to embrace who I am and my place in it, and that includes helping others develop themselves.”

“I’m not exploring the objective nature of things,” he said. “I’m exploring who I am and who we all are.”

That sense of wholeness is central to Close’s story. When asked whether he feels more like a scientist who loves music or a musician who loves science, he rejects the premise.

“I think the best short answer is neither. Everybody has what drives them and maybe it’s more than one thing. If my story can help somebody, I want them to have courage about who they are and give themselves the permission to pursue that and bring beauty into the world,” said Close.  

For students who feel pulled toward multiple passions, Close offers a realistic encouragement. He believes students should be honest about their interests but recognize that excellence takes commitment and sacrifice. “You will have to take turns while you get good at one thing at a time. And it’s going to feel like a sacrifice, but it can be repaired, and you can come back around and develop yourself in other ways.”

Close knows this personally because he lived it. After years of giving himself fully to physics, he found his way back to music and discovered that the musician in him had not been lost.  

“I am actually a musician, among other things,” Close said. “I can let go of the idea that I’m not a real musician.”  

Graduating in May 2026, Close notes that the whole experience of completing his program in TXST’s School of Music was great, and he was thankful for all the jazz faculty members who weren’t just excellent musicians but also “really good people,” which was just as important to him: “They want every student to grow and succeed.”

Ultimately, Close fully recognizes that people are rarely one thing, but each part can still belong.

“You are who you are,” Close said. “Our task is to honor and develop who we are.”