Kai Frueh is the recipient of the 2021 MusicLink Senior Achievement Honors Award. Kai is a collaborative pianist from Corvallis, Oregon. He started playing piano at age 7 after being inspired by his younger brother, who plays violin, to pick up an instrument. He has been studying with his teacher, Mary Ann Guenther, for the last 8 years and has a particular interest in chamber and orchestral music. His interest in chamber music was sparked when he and his brother started playing regularly together over 8 years ago. Together they have gone on to record and produce 13 music videos and have performed over 15 house concerts and live streams over the last 4 years. They have also premiered multiple pieces by Oregon composer Thomas Meinzen and released an EP, named Revel, of 3 of his works in May of 2021.

Kai will be continuing his musical education this coming fall at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin with Professor Michael Mizrahi. He will be majoring in piano performance and plans to pursue collaborative piano and conducting in the future. Aside from playing piano Kai plays viola and is very interested in music theory. When not playing music, Kai is an avid birder and photographer. He is very involved in the birding community and was the founder of the Young Birders Network, which is an international young birders organization. He is now pursuing his interests in film and conservation.