James Moon
As an Educator
James began working in schools in 2014 and has been shaped from his experience in public, private, nature-based and homeschool settings. From 2016 to 2020, James danced from classroom-based education to experiential education, as an adventure guide, creating custom curriculum and guiding multi-week high school wilderness expeditions. These were some of the most rich experiences of his life, as the content of education was focused on direct life skills (both hard skills and soft skills) that supported high schoolers in discovering their greatest gifts, strengths, areas for growth and confidence to rise as compassionate, resilient and authentic leaders of the world.
James’ experience with curriculum writing in the classroom began in 2017, creating and teaching a Spanish curriculum for pre-k - 6th graders, integrating music, arts, gardening and the sciences into Spanish class at Westtown School. The following year, James created and created Spanish 1 and 2 curriculum for 7th - 12th graders, always integrating rhythmic exercises, call and response-style learning, songs, dances and stories to enrich the learning experience. In 2023/4, James taught music and Spanish to elementary and middle schoolers at School of Living Arts and enjoyed the process of creating all of the curriculum.
Currently, James is working with homeschool collective to build curriculum for multi-cultural creative camp and educational immersions, as well as meeting with various schools on Maui to implement life skills mentorship programs to support seniors in their transition process out of high school. James finds tremendous joy and gratitude to work with youth!
Marrying Music & Story
As a musician, James finds his greatest inspiration in the seasons and cycles of nature and in the adventure of living a life from a place of true inspiration. James’ music reflects the invitations from the earth for a great return; to our most authentic selves, to our freest expression, and to our most embodied place of belonging. Born in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, adopted by the green coastlines of Hawaii and inspired by many years of adventure around the world, James finds great joy in sharing the whispers of the landscapes that have held him throughout his life.
Within each performance, James weaves a unique story through the tapestry of songs. Often spontaneously created in the moment, James invites the audience into a creative journey, co-creating a realm where anything is possible. James has enjoyed stages with thousands of people in the audience, yet finds most fulfillment in small, intimate house-shows to share his original music.
In 2023 as a part of Ethno World, James joined 15 artists from around the world in Europe, sharing and learning original and classic folk songs from each country, followed by tours and performances in folk festivals throughout Europe. . James continues to find great joy in blending, bending and weaving genres with musicians to create sounds that reflect the migratory nature of music.
You can find James’ first single, Rolling Hills on Spotify here.
You can visit a classroom project created at School of Living Arts of original and classic children’s music here
For Collaboration
My hope is that all collaborations foster a sense of
wonder, curiosity, appreciation and joy to be alive.
For inquiries about music, creative facilitation or youth
development,. please contact
jamesmoon.creative@gmail.com