by Katie Vasquez
Karl Kilb IV plays these notes effortlessly, because he’s been playing them for as long as he could remember
“I sometimes have a melody in mind, but it’s more visual for me. So I’ll think of something or think of a memory. I think of just visualizing the future,” said Kilb.
Even though Karl had been playing since he was 5, he says it was in Ms. Hudson’s class at Saint Ignatius Loyola school on the Upper East Side, that his passion for music was allowed to thrive.
“Karl always had a love for music and he’s such a talented musician. innately musical,” said Emily Hudson, a music teacher at Saint Ignatius Loyola School.
Ms. Hudson remembers hearing the teenage boy play, and being amazed at his talent.
“It was like having a professional musician in the jazz band,” said Hudson.
As Karl’s piano playing skills continued to grow, so did his belief that someone was helping guide his hands.
“It definitely sparked a curiosity for learning about my faith and putting and also learning music,” said Kilb, “and those are the two constants in my life, music and faith.”
After graduating from NYU in May 2024, Karl says his future is already looking bright.
“Right now, I’m actually doing music therapy, and I’m also composing for films and shows. and I’m releasing my own music,” said Kilb.
Music inspired by the songs he hears at mass.
“Just knowing that I can, you know, puts a little bit of positivity into people’s lives through music and faith. I think that’s what I’m going to try to continue to do,” said Kilb.
He believes music and faith share one universal language.
Kilb said, “The piano, wherever I go in the world, it has 88 keys and wherever I go in the world. the mass is the same depending on the language.”
If you would like to listen to some of Karl’s music, you can check it out on Apple music and Spotify.