When the student musicians of Kids In Concert take a bow at the finale of their showcase concert on Sunday, April 30, they will be both giving and receiving a gift.

They’re giving the gift of music, of entertainment.

They’re getting the ability to keep at it.

That second gift comes courtesy of KIC student teacher Sophia Doane, who, through her fundraising efforts via the Falcon Foundation, recently collected more than $4,000 to donate to the group. The 17-year-old Bainbridge High School junior is the managing director of the family-owned Falcon Foundation, which, she said, “assists Kids In Concert through its own fundraising.”

“I basically talk about Kids In Concert to every person I know and meet,” Doane said. “If they seem interested, I send them an email with a link to the website.”

Kids In Concert is a not-for-profit instrument education organization created using the values of El Sistema, a publicly-financed volunteer-based music education program from Venezuala. It offers children from disadvantaged families and circumstances who may be unable to afford instruments or lessons the opportunity to learn to play an orchestral instrument and participate in musical ensembles, as well as a safe, supportive after-school option and even homework assistance.

One of 13 KIC music instructors, Doane teaches violin. She’s been playing for 11 years, and is one of only three paid teachers on the group roster.

She started with KIC last year, looking to rack up some community service hours in a field she was passionate about. It quickly grew to be a much bigger part of her life, though, and she now teaches there twice a week.

The teenager has fostered impressive success already in this, only her second year aboard, said Kirsten Branson-Meyer, KIC’s executive director.

“[Sophia] is actually, I think, a very naturally gifted teacher,” Branson-Meyer said. “She, in a way, has our toughest group of kids. She definitely has our largest group. She has the very beginners, and so they tend to be a little bit younger and a little bit squirrelier.

“What she’s accomplished with the kids is amazing.”

One student in particular, Branson-Meyer said, has responded even better than they had hoped to Doane’s trademark calm, quiet style.

“One of the kids has some pretty severe learning issues, and one of the things she has to do is she has to learn everything incremental, step-by-incremental-step over and over again,” Branson-Meyer explained. “Learning a stringed instrument that way is really rough.

“Of course, we have high hopes for all of our kids,” she added. “But we knew this girl would probably be slower than everybody else. Suddenly, with Sophia, she is now leading her group. It’s amazing. Her mom is thrilled. She’s thrilled. She has a great deal of pride in what she’s accomplished and I give Sophia the credit.”

What Branson-Meyer calls her “quiet determination,” Doane just calls watching TV. For some of her more difficult students, she said, she just mimicked what worked on television — especially the engaging, rhetorical tone and style of “Dora the Explorer.”

“I tried lots of different strategies,” she said. “I kind of thought, ‘What gets kids excited about things? What makes kids want to keep learning?’ And then I kind of thought about television and how, you know these kids’ programs? Kids are so addicted to these kids programs and they have such an effect, what kids see on TV they tend to copy.”

It worked. Even the most averse pupil could not help but be charmed.

“[I] wanted to impart my love for music on other children in the Kitsap area,” Doane said. “I have six students in my group, six girls — they learn so fast and they’re all so cute, I’m super proud of them — and I taught all of them how to play from the very beginning to where they are now.”

KIC was previously based in Rolling Bay Hall, but has now set up shop across the bridge.

“We’ve grown substantially,” Branson-Meyer said. “We now meet in Suquamish because it’s much easier. Most of our kids go to Suquamish Elementary [School], so we just walk them over instead of asking parents to get them across the bridge.”

Doane’s recent fundraising success came as a surprise to the boss, especially considering it’s been a solo show and only going on since November.

“I wish I had her secret,” Branson-Meyer laughed.

“She can be very persuasive and she’s very gentle in her persuasiveness,” she said. “And I think it works for her. She’s also very committed to our program, which is great. It definitely helps.”

Doane said the money will go to getting kids off the KIC waiting list and into the class.

“For those kids, we need instruments,” she said. “So the money is for instruments, music and snacks.

“I love the kids at KIC. They are fabulous and talented and they add a lot of joy to my life.”

Tickets for the upcoming concert, $35 for adults, $15 for children, are on sale now. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time. The show is from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at the Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo.

Visit www.kidsinconcert.org or email questions@kidsinconcert.org for more information and ticket sales.

And visit www.falcfoun dation.org to learn more about the Falcon Foundation and their mission to provide children with the tools and resources to learn a classical instrument, or donate to KIC.