Community Music School Student Accepted to Interlochen Center for the Arts

Mitchell Beckmann, a percussion student at Webster’s Community Music School (CMS) has been accepted to the Interlochen Arts Academy, an arts boarding school in Michigan, where he will study during his junior and senior years of high school. 
 
Beckmann’s passion for percussion began after seeing a performance of STOMP! in fifth grade. Shortly after, he auditioned for percussion at Wildwood Middle School – and by the time he reached high school, Beckmann decided to take individual lessons. Based on the recommendation from some of his fellow percussionists, he found Instructor Michael Faris at CMS. 
 
“When Mitchell decided to supplement his music classes at Lafayette High School with private lessons, Mr. Faris’ name was mentioned again and again as the best for percussion in St. Louis, so we were thrilled Mitchell was able to work with him,” said Mitchell Beckmann’s mother, Jan Beckmann. “The experience with CMS and Mr. Faris has been much more than we were expecting. The quality of the instruments and performance space and the ensembles available at CMS are fantastic. And Mr. Faris has provided much more than an hourly lesson. He has been a mentor, a guide to choosing the best equipment and instruments in our budget and works outside of lessons making sure that he has material to challenge Mitchell and help develop his technique and understanding of the music industry.”  
 
“Mitchell is an exceptional student,” says Michael Faris, percussion instructor and director of CMS Young People’s Orchestra Percussion (YPOP). “He wants to do this. He wants to make a living as a performer. He's completely committed. I needed to figure out a way to help him on that path, besides just giving him instruction. And that meant connecting him in a way so that if he continues on this path, he will have made the right types of connections.” 

Percussion instructor Michael Faris

Faris arranged for a private lesson with the lead percussionist of the New York Philharmonic and instructor at the Manhattan School of Music, Christopher Lamb, in New York.  
 
“It was eye-opening,” Beckmann said about the experience. “He was picking me apart like how I stand to how I ‘dance with the drumsticks.’ It was a lot of stuff I wasn’t exposed to yet. Now, not a second goes by that I don’t think about how I stand – even in the grocery store or something!” 
 
Beckmann also jumped on the information about Interlochen Arts Academy after Faris mentioned it as a beautiful, long-established school with a great reputation for musicians in high school.  
 
“When Mitchell gets up to Interlochen, knowing Mitchell as I do, I'm sure he will make his presence known and make some connections there too,” said Faris. “By the time he graduates high school, he'll probably have a pretty good sense of where he's going to go next, and he will have already made a connection with those people.” 
 
When asked what he will look forward to most at Interlochen, Beckmann joked, “This is going to sound kind of weird, but they have a stir-fry machine, and you can make your own stir-fry. I’m excited about having stir-fry for lunch.” 
   
On a more serious note, he shared something deeper. "Artistic passion is a get-to rather than a have-to. And, when you find something else you love, that doesn’t replace it. Your passion stays with you. For me, music is always a part of everything. Interlochen will let me surround myself with others who feel the same way and give me a chance to spend much more of my time developing my skills and being challenged." 
 
After finishing high school at Interlochen, Beckmann hopes to attend the Manhattan School of Music and is considering some time abroad. 
 
To see Mitchell Beckmann in performance before he leaves, please join Faris and his students at their third Annual CMS Summer Mood Percussion Concert taking place at the Community Music School in Room 10 on Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m.