Frist Campus Center, 8 p.m. — Students sit grouped at couches and chairs, eyes glued to computers and books. Flyers overlap on the walls, a corner occasionally flapping under the air conditioner’s breeze. The aroma of food wafts up the stairs, and the hum of conversations permeates the first floor. Under the flickering neon lights of Cafe Vivian sits Monica Jun ’26, a junior in the Economics Department.
Jun is a second soprano in Tigressions, an all-femme a cappella group on campus. She also recently began an Instagram account for her own songwriting: @monicassongs. She’s been heavily involved in music during her three years at Princeton — you might’ve seen her at Coffee Club as a weekly performer last year. We sat down to talk at a precariously tall high table about her journey in the arts at Princeton and beyond.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
The Daily Princetonian: Can you tell us about yourself and your group?
Monica Jun: I’m a junior in the Economics department, but I do a lot of singing on campus. I’m part of an all-femme identifying a cappella group called the Princeton Tigressions, which has become such a crucial part of my Princeton experience. I feel it’s not only just because I love singing, but they really help cultivate my love for it, even in seasons where I really don’t even like listening to music, they’re kind of the ones who will bring me up.
DP: How did you start out with singing?
MJ: I actually have been singing my whole life. I did musical theater growing up, and I was in a competitive a cappella group in high school where we could do Pitch Perfect competitions. I fully met Deke Sharon. He’s the producer of Pitch Perfect. He would help tell us what to fix, and we would compete. But coming into college, I knew I definitely wanted to be part of an a cappella group.
It’s cooler in college than it was in high school. In high school, no one cared. But I think there’s something about Princeton, everyone being nerds in different ways. I’m definitely a nerd for music, while other people are nerds for sports or nerds for math. All my friends are so supportive, and it’s just such a great experience.
DP: What kind of music do you most perform now?
MJ: I love R&B. I feel like my voice suits it best compared to other genres. I started to write music after I took a course called “How to Write a Song” at Princeton with the bassist of Lake Street Dive. Before the class, I always wrote little blurbs of songs, but I never wrote a full one out. Now I’m starting to write songs, not being afraid if it’s terrible, just getting it out.
DP: Do you have a dream venue on campus?
MJ: Dream venue? Yeah, that’s a good question. I think a dream venue would be performing for an eating club or even Lawnparties.
DP: And if you could have any guest performer, who would it be?
MJ: Oh, Olivia Dean. She’s a singer I recently got into. It’s her tone and her vibes.
DP: How would you describe your musical progression through your time here?
MJ: It’s been a lot of ups and downs. There are points where I really love music, and I’m writing songs every week, and there’s times when I can’t even listen to music. In those periods, it’s about giving myself grace. It’s the same for everyone with their passions — it’s giving yourself grace to come back. There’s so many people in my a cappella group who grew up with musical technique, and they’ll give me tips. I’m finding new joys in music.
DP: What was the story of where and when you first discovered music?
MJ: My mom was a singing major in Korea before she immigrated. I always grew up with music — she sang for us. My brother is also an amazing singer. He’s a lot older. It just became a part of my life. Once it started to get serious in high school, when I joined the competitive a cappella group, I started to feel that this may be my thing. But it’s difficult because my mom really doesn’t want me to major in music or be a singer because she knows how difficult that field is. So, I chose econ, and I enjoy econ, but if I had the choice, I would love to just do music.
DP: What are some of your favorite spaces or experiences with music at Princeton?
MJ: I love Woolworth. They have open practice rooms so I could go. I usually write most of my songs there because it’s a private space. I think another part of the progression is that I performed as a weekly performer at Coffee Club last year. That was the first time I sang alone. That added some level of confidence in myself and my own music.
DP: How was that experience for you?
MJ: I first started doing covers, and then I started to write my own music. Coffee Club was the first place I performed some of my originals. It was low stakes because it’s not too big of a crowd and everyone's doing their own work.
DP: What was a difficult moment in your musical journey here? Do you feel like you’ve gained anything from that experience?
MJ: Yeah, oh my gosh. I lost my voice for most of last year because of some medical issues. It was really tough on my mental health, because I couldn’t do what I had always done with singing. But everyone in the group was super understanding. There were so many weeks where I just showed up to rehearsal and I was just sitting there, but I literally couldn’t produce sound. I learned to sometimes be in the background. I had solos in the group that we just never got to sing, but they were really rooting for me. I sing this song called American Boy, and that’s my solo. Finally, one week, the music director was like, ‘Let’s do it Monica, your voice is getting better.’ The whole week I was just silent and they’re giving stuff to heal my throat. And then when we sang it was actually fine and everyone was supportive.
DP: Do you have some favorite songs to perform, or favorite songs that you’ve done with your acapella group?
MJ: I love “Fallen” by Alicia Keys, we do “Evergreen” by Yeba. “Ceilings” by Lizzie McAlpine, or ”When the Party’s Over” [by Billie Eilish] are all feel-good songs.
DP: Do you have places on campus that you feel feed into your creativity or into your process?
MJ: The East Pyne cone. It has this cone-shaped stone in the middle. And my friend and I always sit on that cone and watch people go by, especially on a nice day, because it has shade by the trees. I feel like it helps me think.
DP: Is there anything you want to add or you think is important?
MJ: Come to the Tigressions’ arch sings!
Narges Anzali is a member of the Class of 2028 and a contributing writer for The Prospect. She can be reached at na5831[at]princeton.edu.
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