Orange County School of the Arts junior Jadon Wu poses for a photo at the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza in Costa Mesa on Sunday, April 14, 2024, after he was named the 2024 Instrumental Music Artist of the Year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
It sounds like a crazy idea, but Jayden has done his research.
Wu, a classical pianist with interests in medicine and music, talked about perhaps becoming a doctor and perhaps one day airdropping a piano in a remote part of the world as part of a medical mission team.
There was precedent: it happened during World War II, he told a group of astonished Artist of the Year judges. He has dreamed of traveling to Africa on such a mission with his father, a doctor, since he was a child.
“Music is not about being a professional,” Wu said, “it’s about what I can do for others, what I can offer others.”
For Wu, 17, that means combining body care with the healing power of music.
Since 2020, he has been bringing his gifts as a musician to those in need as the founder of Mending Melodies. Fundraising for music education for disadvantaged groups.
Wu’s commitment to using his musical talents to improve the lives of others stems from personal experience. A few years ago, his grandfather fell off a roof while doing maintenance work. The accident broke his back and caused intracranial bleeding.
After the surgery, his grandfather fell into a coma. “My prediction is that he will never respond or be able to speak to me again,” Wu wrote in his Artist of the Year application.
To express his love, Wu visited him regularly—”after school, in the evenings, on weekends, and any other time I could”—to play the piano for him.
“In some ways, I hope the music reaches into his heart and heals him.”
Months passed and his grandfather finally opened his eyes. Wu, a junior in the School of Music at Orange County School of the Arts, continues to visit and play for his grandfather.
“Now, whenever I pass by, he waves to me,” Wu told the judges, who were impressed by his artistic talent and selfless spirit.
“It’s not just about his virtuosity,” said Paul Hodgins, pianist, longtime arts writer and publisher of the Culture OC website.
“He was a thoughtful pianist.”
Instrumental Music Finalist
In addition to Artist of the Year, judges selected finalists from 15 instrumental semifinalists who played a variety of music – classical, jazz, rock, pop and soul – piano, violin, cello , double bass, oboe, guitar, drums, and equipped with electronic software.
Paul Gong, Group 1: He started playing piano when he was five, and after moving here from China, he switched to cello in fourth grade and double bass three years later. He also played trombone in the Northwood High School marching band and bass trombone in the school’s jazz band. Gong, 17, wants to become a professional double bass player and also wants to teach. After graduating this year, he auditioned for a top music academy. Juilliard was his dream school.
Joseph Hufford, District 1: He wore a pink and blue plaid beanie and the same red, blue, burgundy and pink plaid sweater jacket – an outfit he crocheted. Hufford, 18, maintains the cool demeanor of a jazz guitarist as always. He has been playing guitar for four years and was hooked on jazz after hearing “There Will Never Be Another You,” one of the songs Chet Baker presented to the judges. He played ball at local coffeehouses and after graduating from Costa Mesa High School, planned to attend Sonoma State University. What was really cool, he said, was playing in jazz clubs.
Amirette Melendez, District 2: Melendez had never seen a double bass until middle school. She now plays the instrument in the Santa Ana High School Chamber Orchestra. Melendez, 18, learned to play the harp and play the trumpet in a school production of “Les Misérables.” She was in the marching band for two years and served as the drummer. She volunteers with the Irvine Symphony Orchestra. All this convinced relatives that it was worth it. “I need to be patient with my family because living in a Hispanic family means they don’t understand how music can get you far in life.” Melendez wants to study music education and teaching.
Savannah Twitt, District 1: She has been playing drums since she was 6 years old, more as a hobby. Then, three years ago, music students at the Orange County School of the Arts realized that girls could become professional drummers in rock bands. That’s when she saw Karah James of the Canadian indie-pop band Valley perform live. “She’s living the dream; playing drums for 2,000 people and loving every second of it. Tweedt is getting serious: She’s recording an EP with her band ti85 in 2022 and hopes to master the studio techniques of record production, which It’s her “dream career.” Tweedt, 18, hopes to mentor young women and raise the profile of women in the music industry.
