Inspiring Conversations with Kevin Kao of FreshStart Music Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Kao.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
FreshStart started in my room at my parent’s house. I was blessed to be able to move back home after grad school. My mom is also a piano teacher and has taught in Irvine for 20+ years – my first students came from her. She was kind enough to give me her more advanced students when I first started teaching because advanced students are so much easier to teach than beginners.

There is so much that goes into teaching beginners and it’s a phase of study that most people who major in music either had when they were really young (and don’t remember) or breezed through (because they’re talented). There’s a reason school teachers have to go through so much training and student teaching to earn their teaching credentials in order to teach at schools. I often tell parents a brilliant scientist does not make a brilliant science teacher. Yet, it’s the common perception when parents look for music teachers.

I started FreshStart because it was something my mom had to do consistently over the years when students transferred to her. She had to give them a fresh start and rebuild their fundamentals and undo bad habits in order for the students to continue progressing and reach higher levels.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting and growing FreshStart has been a challenging and rewarding road.

As the studio has grown, my role at FreshStart has evolved, and I’ve had to evolve with it. Those hours spent in the practice room perfecting that Beethoven sonata and hours spent lesson planning for students didn’t help when it came to running a business and working with employees and staff.

Living in the music world also didn’t prepare us for dealing with people who didn’t have the best intentions. In one case we had an assistant director whom we trusted and treated like family make out with thousands of dollars from the studio and is now working for a competitor. In another case, we got kicked out of one of our buildings because the landlord never actually signed the lease we agreed to.

Looking back though, I see that every challenge and obstacle we’ve encountered has turned into an opportunity and time of growth and improvement for our studio and for myself. We wouldn’t be where we are today without all those experiences and opportunities for growth.

We’ve been impressed with FreshStart Music Studio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of the things that set FreshStart apart from other studios is our focus on teaching especially when it comes to laying down a solid foundation for beginners. Both my wife and I studied piano pedagogy in addition to our performance degrees so we’re able to hire and help our teachers continue to develop in the area of teaching.

We’re also a music school that’s big on the importance of positive mentorship for kids. We believe we play a significant and privileged role in kids’ lives and that music lessons aren’t just about learning music but also transformative life lessons and character development so that students grow up with the tools and mindset that help them succeed in music and life.

I’m most proud of the reputation we have with teachers and past teachers we still connect with. When my wife and I used to teach a lot more students, we’d receive a lot of gifts from our student families at Christmas time. Now that we don’t teach many students any more, we get gifts and thank you cards from our teachers instead. While there’s fewer of those, they mean so much to us.

We’re most proud when teachers tell us FreshStart’s the best place they’ve taught at because we know that happy teachers directly benefit the students and our mission of positive mentorship.

What does success mean to you?
I talked about my role evolving as FreshStart’s grown in size but the most significant change for me is becoming a father (of 3).

My career started off with success being defined by the mentoring of my students and evolved to the mentoring of teachers, but above both of those, my ultimate success will be defined by my kids. I pray that they will grow up to be man and women of integrity, humbleness, and generosity. That they’ll possess both grit and grace and that their hearts will be free from grumbling and filled with gratitude.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.freshstartirvine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartirvine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshStartMusicStudio
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@freshstartmusic
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/freshstart-music-studio-irvine