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Eric Seohyun Moon
Viola, Violin
Teaching Philosophy
I see music as a language, a universal language without borders. Like any spoken language, there are many ways to express it: different speeds, emphases, dialects, and ways of shaping a sentence. What remains certain is that there is always a way of “speaking” beautifully, in a way that is both delightful to hear and persuasive.
For this reason, I would like to focus on the fundamentals of this language: truly opening our ears to sound, listening deeply to my own sound, and developing the perspective of a “third ear.”
I hope to work on these simple yet fundamental roots of music together. It requires effort and patience, but I believe it is meaningful and worthwhile work.
Let’s dive into it together!
Biography
Eric Seohyun Moon is a Korean violist forging a unique artistic path with his own musical language. His interests span the entire classical repertoire, from Renaissance to contemporary music, from solo works to opera. He is currently Deputy Principal Violist of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg and a scholar of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
Mr. Moon studied at Seoul National University, the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin with Simone von Rahden and Tabea Zimmermann, and later at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt in the class of Tabea Zimmermann.
Mr. Moon has won numerous major competitions in Korea, including first prizes at the Dong-A Music Competition and the Music Association of Korea Competition. Internationally, he was awarded first prize at the Gaetano Zinetti International Competition in Italy, was a semifinalist at the Concours de Genève, and a finalist at the Prague Spring International Music Competition, where he also received the Czech Music Fund Foundation Prize.
He has participated in leading international academies including the Verbier Festival Academy, Villars Music Academy, and Henle Chamber Music Academy, where he worked with artists such as Antoine Tamestit, Lawrence Power, Nils Mönkemeyer, Jens-Peter Maintz, and Gábor Takács-Nagy. As a soloist, he has performed with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Târgu Mureş Symphony Orchestra, and has given numerous recitals in Korea, Germany, and Italy.
From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Abel Quartet, further developing his artistic voice as a chamber musician through performances at festivals including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Tongyeong International Music Festival, and Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival.
Alongside his chamber music activity, Mr. Moon is deeply committed to orchestral performance. After joining the Karajan-Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he was mentored by Ulrich Knörzer, he has appeared as a guest musician with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, hr-Sinfonieorchester, and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, including international tours. Since the 2025/26 season, he has served as Deputy Principal Viola (Stellvertretender Stimmführer) of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg.
Beyond performance, Mr. Moon is also active as a cultural entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Instagram platform ClassicalMusicMatters, dedicated to sharing ideas and conversations around classical music.
Eric currently performs on a viola made by Philipp Augustin, generously loaned by a private patron.
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