It might sound like some crazy idea, but Jadon Wu has done his research.
A classical pianist interested in medicine and music, Wu talks about perhaps becoming a doctor and maybe someday airdropping a piano in a remote area of the world as part of a medical mission team.
There’s precedent: It happened during World War II, he informed an astonished panel of Artist of the Year judges. He’s dreamed since he was little of traveling to Africa with his father, a doctor, on such missions.
“Music is not so much about being a professional,” Wu said, “but what I can do for other people, what I can offer other people.”
To Wu, 17, that means combining physical care with the healing power of music.
He’s been bringing his gifts as a musician to people in need since 2020 as the founder of Mending Melodies, an organization that performs for senior citizens, disabled people, and those with long-term illnesses, as well as fundraisers to benefit music education for underprivileged children.
Wu’s commitment to using his musicianship to better someone else’s life stems from personal experience. A few years ago, his grandfather fell off a roof while doing some maintenance. The accident broke his back and caused intracranial bleeding.
Following surgery, his grandfather was comatose. “The prognosis was that he would forever be unresponsive and unable to talk to me again,” Wu wrote in his Artist of the Year application.
To show his love, Wu visited regularly — “after school, at night, on weekends, and whenever else I could” — to play the piano for him.
“In some ways, I hoped that music would reach deep into his mind and heal him.”
Months passed before his grandfather opened his eyes. Wu, a junior in the music conservatory at Orange County School of the Arts, continues to visit and play for his grandfather.
“Now he will wave at me whenever I come by,” Wu told the judges, who were impressed by both his artistry and his altruism.
“It’s not just about his virtuosity,” said Paul Hodgins, a pianist and longtime arts writer who is publisher of the website Culture OC.
“He’s a thoughtful pianist.”
Instrumental finalists
In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected finalists from among 15 Instrumental Music semifinalists who played a variety of music — classical, jazz, rock, pop and soul — on the piano, violin, cello, double bass, oboe, guitar, drums, and with electronic software.
Paul Gong, Division 1: He was 5 when he started playing piano, switching to the cello in fourth grade after moving here from China, and then the double bass three years later. He has also played trombone in the Northwood High marching band and bass trombone in the school’s jazz ensemble. Gong, 17, wants to be a professional double bassist, and also teach. He’s auditioned for top music conservatories to attend after graduation this year. Juilliard is his dream school.
Joseph Hufford, Division 1: He wore a pink and blue checked beanie and similarly checked red, blue, burgundy and pink sweater jacket — an outfit he crocheted. True to the jazz guitarist that he is, Hufford, 18, maintained a cool demeanor. He’s been playing guitar for four years and got hooked on jazz after hearing Chet Baker’s “There Will Never Be Another You,” one of the songs he showcased for the judges. He plays local coffeehouses and, after graduating Costa Mesa High, plans to attend Sonoma State. What would really be cool, he said, would be to play in jazz clubs.
Yamilett Melendez, Division 2: Melendez never saw a double bass until middle school. Now she plays the instrument in the Santa Ana High chamber orchestra. Melendez, 18, learned to play harp for a school production of “Les Misérables” and has picked up the trumpet. She’s been in the marching band for two years and serves as drum major. She volunteers with Symphony Irvine. All this while convincing relatives it’s worth it. “I’ve needed to have patience with family members because living in a Hispanic household means they don’t understand how music can take you far in life.” Melendez wants to study music education and teach.
Savannah Tweedt, Division 1: She’s played drums since she was 6, more as a hobby than anything else. Then, three years ago, the Orange County School of the Arts music student realized a girl could be a professional drummer in a rock band. That’s when she saw Karah James of the Canadian indie pop group Valley perform live. “She was living the dream; playing drums for 2,000 people and absolutely loving every second of it.” Tweedt got serious: She recorded an EP in 2022 with her band, ti85, and wants to master the studio techniques of record production, her “dream career.” Tweedt, 18, hopes to mentor young women and raise the profile of females in the music industry.
