Arts and Entertainment

Ending on a High Note

Schreyer Scholar Jon Callan and band Mute Cities perform at Movin’ On

Schreyer Honors College Scholar and bassist Jon Callan joins his friends and bandmates on the stage for Movin' On 2015, Penn State's annual music festival, on Friday, May 1. Winners of the Battle of the Bands competition this spring, "Mute Cities" earned the chance to open for the free concert for students held on campus. Credit: Kerry McIntire - Movin' OnAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For Jon Callan, bassist for the student band Mute Cities that will play at Movin On’ Friday, it may seem like the end of this song is near. The Schreyer Honors College Scholar and soon-to-be Penn State alumnus will perform with his bandmates in one of their final appearances before graduation.

Almost two years ago, when paths converged to form Mute Cities, they might not have imagined their music putting them on center stage. After winning this spring’s Battle of the Bands, it became a reality with the group slated to take the stage at 3:30 p.m. to play at Penn State’s annual free music festival.

A constant in Callan’s life, it was music that cemented a friendship formed in Atherton Hall during his freshman year.

“My best friend Derek, my current roommate, and I lived in Atherton Hall and he started playing guitar his freshman year,” said Callan, who last played an instrument, the saxophone, in elementary school and middle school. “He [Derek] would play and we would sing and I thought that maybe I should try something. I received a bass for my 20th birthday and it seemed like a cool thing.”

Even though he wasn’t classically trained and couldn’t read music, Callan convinced himself he could play the bass.

“I listen to music, it’s been my number-one hobby,” Callan said. “I love going to concerts and love the culture that surrounds different types of music. I like to think I know what sounds good and bad. Playing with my bandmates helped my musical development a lot.“

What started as a dorm room duet took a new direction. Friends and former high school classmates formed a band that would later become Mute Cities, a name from a Nintendo 64 game. From an early Halloween party playing as a Weezer cover band, this latest iteration of Mute Cities saw the band winning the Battle of the Bands as well as recording and releasing a four-song album, Strong Work, this spring.

“I’m excited that we’ll be able to show off our stuff on a really big scene, much bigger than anything we have ever played before,” Callan said.

A little more than a week after being on the main stage for Movin’ On, Callan will be moving on himself. Accepted to Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore for the fall of 2015, his summer plans include time with his family in Pittsburgh, a Birthright trip to Israel and a getaway with friends, including some of his bandmates, to Iceland.

The brief respite from assignments and exams before starting medical school will be a welcome one for Callan.

The science major, who is earning honors in engineering design, more than managed to keep busy at Penn State, excelling academically while also getting involved in opportunities for leadership, taking advantage of study abroad and, of course, devoting time to music and Mute Cities. As Mute Cities became a bigger part of his life, he relied on time management to keep his priorities, practice sessions and gigs straight while also preparing for the MCATs and med school interviews.

While all Callan's experiences at Penn State have provided a lifetime of memories, it was a study abroad trip to Kenya following his sophomore year that not only reinforced his choice of profession, but helped him find his purpose as well. He worked with the social health venture Mashavu, which strives to use technology to help provide accessible health information to communities in developing nations, address the most relevant issues and reduce barriers to care.

“I knew I wanted to go into medicine, but, retrospectively, I realized I didn’t have the right reasons to be going into medicine,” Callan admitted. “The pathos was when I went abroad with the Humanitarian Engineering Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program in the College of Engineering and worked with Mashavu. That experience, working on the ground, collaborating with individuals and seeing the tangible impact on that community was special and formative for me for developing the 'this is why' reason for choosing medicine."

Helping to solve real-world problems through his international experience led Callan to turn his attention to domestic issues regarding healthcare reform and addressing the needs of individuals who need healthcare to survive and thrive. That consideration was part of his decision to select Johns Hopkins over other med schools, for the diverse patient population and combination of research and public health and service.

“Just last weekend I was with my Schreyer friends and we were talking about how we have formed these relationships with people who are like-minded and driven, and at the same time, are well-rounded individuals,” Callan said. “I look around the table see people who are super-involved in different organizations and people who are leaders on this campus. I think that’s one of the coolest parts, making all these friends and connections I’m so proud of.”

A freshman who arrived in State College days before orientation to participate in Leadership Jumpstart and then continued as a student assistant with the program, Callan took advantage of the opportunities Schreyer Honors College offered throughout his four years.

“The Schreyer experience opened the door to all that Penn State had to offer,” Callan said. “Being at a large research institution, it could be easy to get overwhelmed, but Schreyer provides a fast track for you in so many different ways, from having access to distinguished faculty speakers to how I got involved with the HESE department, which then became my thesis topic.”

Even though the spotlight is set for Callan’s final performance as a part of Mute Cities, the set list for his life is still being written and it has been heavily influenced by his Penn State and Schreyer experiences.

“Overall, what stands out most to me are the people I have met and the formative experiences I have had,” he said.

Schreyer Honors College promotes academic excellence with integrity, the building of a global perspective and creation of opportunities for leadership and civic engagement. Schreyer Honors Scholars, including Gateway Scholars admitted after their first year of enrollment, total more than 1,800 students at University Park and six Commonwealth campuses. They represent the top two percent of students at Penn State who perform well academically and lead on campus.

Last Updated May 1, 2015