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Kalvin’s story: From Sistema to Carnegie Hall 

Kalvin was just six years old when he started with the Sistema music program.

Little did he know how much that would shape his life.

A dozen years later, he stood in front of the audience at our 2024 campaign kickoff earlier this month and shared how he became so enamored with music – and ended up on a journey no six-year-old could predict.

Through his passion and commitment to music, he has performed with his clarinet all over Canada and the United States – and has even performed at Carnegie Hall.

Now in his final year of high school, he is applying to the best music programs at universities throughout North America.

And he’s become something of a legend among the younger set at Sistema now.

When he enters a classroom, the clarinet students go wild with excitement. Many young kids say they want to be like Kalvin “when they grow up.”