Kirshbaum started cello lessons with his father at the age of six. At eleven, he continued lessons with Roberta Guastafeste (née Harrison), who was on the music faculty at Southern Methodist University. At fourteen years old, he began studying with Lev Aronson, who was then the principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He won numerous awards as a student and appeared as a soloist with the Dallas Symphony at the age of fifteen.
