About Us

K2K Strings is short for Kid to Kid Strings, an organization that brings together student instructors with students who need instructors. We cannot imagine our lives without music in it and we want to help other kids improve their skills and increase their enjoyment of playing music

Study after study has shown that music education improves concentration, happiness and ... test scores. In these crazy times right now we feel we really need the first two very badly.

Want to learn with us?

If you are a string student who needs a teacher this year, please contact us. Our summer model was (and always will be) to offer free virtual lessons, especially for Title I students. During the school year some of our high school Ambassadors have agreed to stay on to teach for a nominal fee. In these times when part-time jobs are hard to come by, we hope you will understand and support the dedication and time put in by our experienced Ambassadors.

Please note: we are not a substitute for your regular teacher. If you can take lessons with your private teacher, please do! That is their livelihood and we believe that the very best way to learn music is with a trained teacher if at all possible.

Our program is to bridge a gap that is there now due to these trying times. We don't want financial instability to affect a child's ability to learn music.

Want to teach with us?

Please contact us if you are an experienced string player and want to join our team of Ambassadors.

the founders

Keshav

Keshav is a freshman at Northwestern University pursuing dual degrees in Violin Performance at the Bienen School of Music and Neuroscience at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

While in high school he was Concertmaster of the LASA Honors Orchestra for 4 years. He was Concertmaster of the TMEA Region 18 High School Symphony Orchestra, Austin Youth Symphony Orchestra and is a two time member of the TMEA All-State Symphony Orchestra. Keshav was named as a 2020 Texas Young Master by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust. In the Summer of 2020 he was immersed in music at the Heifetz International Music Institute studying with Mr. Jan Sloman. The Young Master grant also enabled him to study with Dr. James Stern (UMD) and continue studying advanced repertoire with soloist Mr. William Hagen.

Keshav was named a 2021 National YoungArts Winner, 2022 National YoungArts Honorable Mention, as well as a member of the 2021 & 2022 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA).

The summer of 2021 he spent making wonderful friends and fabulous music in Purchase, NY, culminating in this performance with the NYO-USA. The summer of 2022 Keshav, as part of NYO-USA, performed at Carnegie Hall followed by a 4-city tour in Europe including Amsterdam, Berlin, Ravello and Lucerne.

kavya

Kavya is a first year student of Knowledge Integration at the University of Waterloo in Canada. She is a member of the University of Waterloo Orchestra and is Assistant Concertmaster of the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony Orchestra.

While in high school in Austin she was a member of the Region 18 Full Orchestra every year since 6th grade. She played with the Austin Youth Symphony Orchestra and has twice been a member of the TPSMEA All-State Orchestra. She performed solo recitals in February 2020 and June 2022. Kavya has attended the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, studying with Prof. Carolyn Huebl.

Kavya serves as advisor for the Austin chapter of Harmonies for the Elderly and continues to teach for K2K Strings..

The LESSONS

How does it work?

Lessons will be held on Zoom once a week for 30 mins and they will be FREE! We have a curriculum to follow for techniques, loosely following the Suzuki books and scales books. If you have orchestra music or Region cuts for next year that you would like to work on, that's great, too.

At the end of each lesson the parent & student will get

At the end of each lesson the parent & student will get the video recording of the class as well as detailed notes on what was covered and what to practice.

This is typically a summer program, but as we found last year, some teacher-student pairs decide to continue through the school year.

Show Less

privacy

How does it work?

Since K2K involves kids teaching kids, we have policies in place to ensure everyone is safe and comfortable online. All lessons will be recorded and the student's parent/guardian will get a copy of it following the lesson. If you prefer to have a joint lesson with your friend from orchestra, that can be arranged, but we need to be in touch with them and their guardians, too.

references

How does it work?

references

We are undertaking this project with the guidance of four local middle and high school orchestra directors. We are happy to provide references.