Kaushik Valiveti, saxophone

Meet Kaushik

Jascha performs on Show 463.

Kaushik Valiveti (saxophone), 18, from Roswell, Georgia, has been playing the alto saxophone for seven years and is classically trained under Dr. Gary Paulo and Dr. Joseph Girard, primary artist affiliates for D’addario and Vandoren, respectively. He has achieved high honors in multiple festivals, including second prize in the highly selective American Protege International Concerto Competition, first prize in the Georgia Concerto Competition, principal chair in the GMEA Allstate band for three years, first prize in the Georgia Encore Concerto Competition, and he is also a music scholar for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program. As one of the only high schoolers accepted into the Hugh Hodgson Music Institute and a distinguished member of the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, he performed at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2023, working closely with Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and world premiering multiple pieces.

Kaushik’s musical endeavors will soon reach an international scope, as he has been selected to perform at the esteemed Wiener Musikverein concert hall in Vienna in the summer of 2025. His passion for music drove him to establish the Melody Shop Inc., a nonprofit committed to providing free music lessons to vulnerable populations in Atlanta. Partnered with three corporations and having over 75 clients in two months, he hopes to provide equitable access to music education.

Outside of music, Kaushik enjoys scientific research, working out, and going on outdoor adventures with friends!