Slow and melancholy notes ring out in the RPAC hallway, dictated by improvised yet skillful maneuvers. His fingers are elegantly perched on the neck of the violin as he guides the bow, gliding over the strings. His versatile motions quicken as he seamlessly transitions into bright and cheerful music.

Hanoom Lee (12) is no novice to the violin — his movements are practiced and precise, the result of over a decade of daily practice.

“A difficult part [of violin] is technique. It’s such a precise instrument; if you cross even a millimeter off, it’s an entirely wrong note. Practicing consistently every day is important,” Hanoom said. “[This precision] definitely carries over to rock climbing.”

He applies this practiced precision in a multitude of skills. At a young age, Hanoom attended a camp in San Diego which offered rock climbing activities. In the seven years since, rock climbing has become a biweekly habit.

“[I enjoy] the thrill of being high up, but at the same time it’s very peaceful. Being by yourself and climbing is a very peaceful experience,” Hanoom said. “There’s a lot of focus that goes into climbing, which I also like.”

Although he faced difficulties in both violin and rock climbing, with practice and coaching, he overcame both his fear of heights and his performance anxiety.

“I had [a fear of heights] originally, but my coaches just pushed me to keep going and not look down. I got used to it after a year or so,” he said. “[And, with violin], I used to have a lot of performance anxiety, but practice is the only way to get over it. If you want your piece to be 80 percent complete, you have to practice at 150 percent.”

His hardworking nature translates easily into his other pursuits. As a native Korean speaker, he grew up among multiple languages, inspiring him to learn more.

“Learning languages is a big part of who I am. Because I mastered Korean when I was really young, I went to a Chinese weekend school when I was in kindergarten.”

The overlap between culture and language enticed him to pursue languages further, and he took multiple languages throughout his high school career.

“[I want] to learn about the cultures of different languages,” Hanoom said. “That carried over into Spanish and French.”

When he’s not in a practice room in the RPAC or climbing a mountain, he can often be found at Nathan Wang’s (12) house. Nathan is a long time friend and orchestral companion, bonded with Hanoom over their shared passion for music and similar sense of humor.

“I do stupid things, he laughs. Sometimes he just comes to my house for no reason and we do random stuff. We like playing random pieces on our instruments,” Nathan said. “He’s a great person to hang out with and he’s always there for me … He really considers what he does and tries not to hurt people’s feelings.”

Kai-Ming Ang (12), a roommate of his from the orchestra’s annual field trip, knows him well, having traveled with him to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities.

“[My favorite thing about Hanoom is] how he is quick to move on,” Kai said. “Whether it’s something he did wrong, or something I did wrong, he’s really quick to change and move on. It’s something that’s really valuable in a friend.”

In addition to his varying passions, his personality is multifaceted as well, Kai notes.

“On the one hand, [Hanoom] just has wild energy,” Kai said. “But, on the other hand, he is this serene image of long strolls and deep conversations. He’s two-dimensional.”

Whether he’s in the music rooms in the RPAC, calloused fingers pressing against steel strings or at his climbing gym, hands firmly gripping plastic rocks, Hanoom straddles the line between delicacy and sureness.

“[Climbing and violin] both use a lot of muscle memory, and in that way it kind of translates,” he said. “Even if it’s scary, the moves you make while climbing and playing can be classified as very elegant. I think focusing on each and every move makes it very peaceful.”