Kailash, former student, now attending the University of Virginia

The following is excerpted from a letter Kailash sent to Dr. Barrett in January 2023:

“…The double major is going very well so far. Music has become my life now and I’m very happy that it is. Much of my day is still engineering-focused, but the music department has become my second home. It’s given me new friends, places to study and hang out, and of course lessons and orchestra. When I’m not in class, I’m in the music building. I feel so in control and happy with my violin progress. I’m clocking 2-3 hours in the practice rooms every day and enjoying it!”

“…Orchestra is going fine… We are playing Beethoven’s 6th Symphony right now… Very excited for the concert.”

“…I’d say I definitely miss group classes and all the chances to solo… On that subject, I cannot stress how good group classes were. That’s one thing the studio should always have. I cannot begin to describe the amount of times my solo expertise has helped me… I may not be as advanced on repertoire as my peers, but my solo confidence and skills rival the seniors here. The repetition of performing every week or so was so great!”

“…I would also add that solo violin and orchestra experience goes hand in hand and every student should do some sort of both in order to become better…I did observe a great deal of my inexperience with solo repertoire. That could just have been because I started taking lessons very late. However, our Suzuki foundational skills are so strong that I still manage to consider myself a peer to some of my friend who are truly talented…”