Early January did not only mark the return of students and staff from winter break; it also welcomed back a celebrated musical tradition: Music@Menlo. Music@Menlo features a roster of world-class musicians from an international chamber music institute that creates performances throughout the summer and into the school year. It is returning to Menlo for its 21st year. Their goal is to provide deserving young musicians with the opportunity to curate their musical skills and encourage an audience for chamber music. Music@Menlo isn’t just an ordinary music program that goes around places to perform. According to its founders, David Finckel and Wu Han, the program is designed to exhibit the highest level of artistic excellence.

Throughout the program, musicians showcased their talents through a variety of music ranging from violin pieces by Wolfgang Mozart to Erno Dohnányi’s piano melodies. The group visited a variety of humanities classes, from Modern World History to Philosophy, and performed a concert to end the program on Jan. 25. This team of eight artists featured a familiar face: Menlo alumnus Jason Moon (‘17).

After graduating from Menlo in 2017, Moon’s journey led him to The Juilliard School, where he deepened his understanding of music. Despite the challenging transition from high school to one of the world’s most renowned music schools, the experience was exhilarating for Moon. Around his junior year, he began to take music classes at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. According to Moon, it was at that conservatory that he met a teacher, Wei He, who changed his life completely. “He made me realize how much I loved music and also helped me realize the sort of potential that I had to go forward with it,” Moon said. His commitment to the school’s training and the exposure to diverse musical styles and techniques broadened his horizons, preparing him for his professional music career later in life.

Recently, Moon has chosen to devote his time solely to his violin practice. However, he still finds listening to other genres of music, like Korean and Indian R&B, and artists like Queen, Pink Floyd and Kendrick Lamar to be a crucial part of expanding his musical perspective. Through listening to other artists, Moon explores different violin rhythms and timing, which in turn improve his own performances.

Music is a fundamental way for Moon to express himself. “In life, there are a lot of things you can’t express through words or actions,” Moon said. Music allows him to communicate his emotions as a creative outlet.

Moon believes that his proudest achievement in music so far is when he played a solo concerto with other professional musicians. While the performance required a lot of preparation, Moon believes that this hard work built his character and mindset.