Moon Ha

performer-composer / researcher

Digital Portfolio for Assistant Professor of Music Composition Position at MIT

About String Works

As a teenager, I took private violin lessons for about a year. Despite my best efforts, I never really learned to play it. I couldn’t even manage a simple melody. But there was something about the raw, untamed sounds of the violin—the fleeting, wild noises it could produce—that captured my imagination. Though I still can’t play a tune from its strings, I remain enchanted by its timbre: the subtle, mournful cries, and the bright, shimmering whispers.

String instruments have long been my silent idols, their voices resonating with a deep, almost mystical beauty that calls to me. Since I began composing, I’ve found myself irresistibly drawn to their warm, vibrant tones and their harsh, impassioned screams. Over the years, I’ve written many pieces for strings—each one a step deeper into the enigmatic world of this instrument family. I’ve tried to conquer them, but perhaps I never will.

String Works is a collection of compositions I’ve crafted for strings over the past decade. It’s been my joy, my privilege, and my profound pleasure to explore their sonic landscape—an ever-unfolding journey, as strange, elusive, and beautiful as the strings themselves.

1. illusive for eight strings (2011)
Performed by JACK Quartet and Mivos Quartet
Score (PDF)
-Audio (MP3)

2. “… until that time may come …” for string quartet (2013)
Performed by Momenta Quartet
Score (PDF)
-Audio (MP3)

3. artless beauty in pursuit of theory op.2 for string trio (2022)
Performed by Amorsima Trio
Score (PDF)
-Audio (MP3)

4. on resonance for violin solo and electronics (2022)
Performed by Mia Detwiler
Score (PDF)
-Audio (MP3)

5. artless beauty in pursuit of theory op.3 for violin and viola (2023)
Performed by Mia Detwiler (violin), Michael Capone (viola)
Score (PDF)
-Audio (MP3)