From the moment he pressed his 7-year-old little fingers onto the strings of his first violin, Caleb Doughty’s love for the instrument would open a world of new opportunities.

At just 16 years old, the musician has already accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime. After getting his start in the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, the home-schooler performed in the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Canada, and with the Middle Tennessee State University Honors Orchestra. In 2017, he received an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Although flattered, Doughty said the timing wasn’t right because it conflicted with another, more practical, opportunity — the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. More like a skills and technique camp, the three-week festival brings together a select group of violin students from all over the world each summer.

“I took that step because, in the long-term, it would be better for me as a player,” he said. “I definitely learned a lot. I was exposed to a higher level of music and it encouraged me as a violin player.”

While at Sewanee, Doughty recorded an audition tape that somehow fell into the hands of Dr. Carol Nies, the director of the Nashville Youth Orchestra at Vanderbilt. Nies was so impressed by the young violinist, she invited him to play in her orchestra and to sit at her left as concertmaster. In the United States, the concertmaster is more commonly known as first chair. It is reserved for the most-skilled musician in the section.

“It’s not quite like the conductor,” he said. “But if you think of it in football terms, the concertmaster is like the quarterback. It’s definitely stressful. If I mess up, so does everyone else.”

Thankfully, that hasn’t happened in the 1 1/2 years he has been concertmaster.

In addition to performing with the NYO, Doughty has been accepted into the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music Precollege Program, which allows him to take lessons with Julliard-trained Dr. Christian McGann and attend college-level classes like music theory and musicianship.

As if his Nashville commitments and grueling practice schedule weren’t enough, Doughty also started taking on students of his own about a year ago.

“Sometimes, when I think back, it’s like, man, if I had know that (skill) at that particular time it would have been so helpful,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to teach, to share what I’ve learned with musicians so they don’t have to struggle like I did.”

Whether teaching or performing, Doughty said unlike any other art form, music is able to create an emotional connection between the listener and the musician.

“It can be happy or sad; it has different characters,” he said. “It can shape itself and become anything. With art, you see a painting and you are drawn to it. Maybe you’ll interpret what it’s trying to say to you. But with music, you can feel the emotion of it.”

Not only is Doughty a prodigious musician, he also has a knack for cybersecurity, which he hopes will turn into a successful career one day. No matter where life takes him, Doughty said he won’t let dust gather on his violin. He said he can see himself playing for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in the future.

For those who wish to learn from him, Doughty said he has room for a few more students in his schedule. For more information, email flodoughty@yahoo.com.