Karen Szczech, a dedicated violinist and first-generation American, graduated from the Academy's Music Department in 2017. Together with her sister Kasia, an alum from 2013, Karen co-founded Magical Keys, a versatile musical organization that includes performances, education, and community engagement.

Keep reading to learn more about Karen and her time at The Academy!

Please note that this interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Describe your life after The Academy.

As of right now, I am still a violinist; I am still a musician. I am so incredibly happy that never changed. I perform and teach for a living, full-time, with my older sister, Kasia, who also went to The Academy and graduated in 2013. She's a pianist, harpist, and composer – we have our own duet together called Magical Keys. We perform for corporate events, weddings, galas, whatever – you name it. We're there whether it's for piano and violin duet, or harp and violin duet. So we do that nonstop, every weekend, all over the place.

On top of that, Magical Keys also has another branch, Magical Keys Institute of Music, which is our private teaching studio. We've been teaching from home for about 10 years now, and we just opened up our public studio. Now we can have not only children, but adults, who want to take lessons. Additionally, we have space to do things with the kids: workshops, studio classes, master classes, recitals. We have our own space to do that, and then we provide lessons on violin, piano, and voice.

We are also building a nonprofit organization called Together We Are A Symphony, and we're going to kickstart in the fall of 2025. We're located in the southwest suburbs, and our goal is to provide more opportunities and greater access to outside ensemble experience, such as: orchestra, choir, band, and more, because there is a lack of it in this area. We've talked to a bunch of the music teachers and they're all like, yeah, these kids literally have no way of doing anything beyond what they're doing, either in school or their private lessons. This program takes this kid in, and it's like, we're gonna make this happen for you – we’ll help you create a rock band, or a rap group, a quartet, whatever it may be. And there's absolutely so many kids here that you just don't know about but they all have similar dreams; they have similar interests.

Not only will the students be learning music skills with professional artists, they will also be learning communication skills, patience, discipline, teamwork – there's so much that goes into it beyond music. And in addition, we want to create a space where it's safe for them. We want kids to come and feel like this is their home.

We also have a concert series to provide the community with high-quality performances throughout the year. Our biggest concert that we put on is a Magical Keys Christmas Extravaganza, which is a 2.5 hour long production of originally composed and arranged Christmas carols in different languages – composed by my sister and myself. We have an orchestra of over 40 musicians, and on top of that, we also have a theatre program for children, which Erika Bautista, a fellow Academy alum, writes and directs.

In addition to all of my work with Magical Keys, I teach at Chicago Center for Music Education (ChiME), and I am the children's music director at St. Fabian Church in Bridgeview.

Could you tell us about what you enjoyed most about your time at The Academy?

When I started college, I knew my high school experience was very different from other kids around me. But the way that I thought – not just about music, but life overall – how I processed and organized things, how I went about tackling things, I'm very certain that's all because of the experiences that The Academy gave me.

What did The Academy most prepare you for?

There was so much to do at The Academy, and because of the people that I was surrounded by – my classmates and teachers – I wasn't just like, I'm only gonna play the violin. No, I'm gonna do violin, but I'm also going to do film scoring. I'm gonna do composition. I'm gonna do literally everything that I possibly can.

And honestly, four years of doing all those things nonstop was probably the best feeling. I didn’t have to do those things, I got to do these things.

Ever since The Academy I haven’t gotten another chance to take a film scoring class. I have never, since The Academy, gotten the chance to write an opera. In high school, I wrote three. I haven’t gotten the chance to, you know, write as many composition pieces as I did. I was able to explore those different avenues of music making, which made me into a well-rounded musician.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to a graduating senior?

There's two things. One of them is a quote that I say in my head, probably every day. It’s a quote from my Academy lit teacher, Nadyja von Ebers, who doesn’t teach here anymore. She said one day, out of the blue, “what you feed grows.” Every relationship you're in – whether it's with your family, your friends, your dog, your craft, your instrument, your ideas – the time you invest in something... that's going to grow.

And then another thing that I would say is, if you really want something, you're gonna do it. That's just facts. If you really want something, no matter what, you will. There will be no excuse that will make you back down if you really want something.

Okay, I guess I have one more thing. The people you are surrounded by, love them, and treat them right. Your friends, your family, your teachers – you just don't know if today's the last day that you have with them. So make sure that the people around you know that they are loved, that they are appreciated. “What you feed grows” – so feed them your love.

See magicalkeysduo.com for more information, upcoming events, and more!