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CELEBR ATION OF MUSIC MUSIC >> DRUMMER TREVOR ELLIS
Trevor Ellis performs at One Love Café.
MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF HIS OWN DRUM
Drum Roll, Please W R ITTEN BY CA MERON COBB
Ah, the terrible twos — an inevitable era reached faster than parents are able to prepare for. Thankfully, the good outshines (most) all the bad, and the fun of childhood milestones has only begun. By this age, toddlers typically start communicating more efficiently, forming two- to four-word sentences. They’re improving mobility, beginning to run and tackle the act of climbing stairs. They’re sorting shapes and colors. They’re building block towers. They’re banging out drum solos. Or at least that was the case for 24-month-old Trevor Ellis. With newly developed motor skills and budding curiosity, Trevor wasted no time in getting behind a set of drums, sporting sticks in both hands and discovering a passion that would 26 |
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
eventually land him the chance at a televised performance — a pretty accomplished way of waltzing into the fourth grade. The now 9-year-old’s talents earned him a contestant slot for the Celebration of Music, a new talent-searching competition hosted by Ethan Bortnick — world-renowned 16-year-old singing, acting and piano-playing prodigy. After learning about the upcoming Gainesville contest location through a local radio advertisement, Trevor and his parents submitted a YouTube video of his performance from his school’s (High Springs Community School) 2016 talent show. The jam session featured Trevor rocking out on drums and his dad, Brad, strumming the electric guitar, said Trevor’s mom, Carol, in a recent phone interview. With both parents being musically inclined (Brad playing guitar and drums and Carol on piano), it isn’t hard to see where Trevor gets his skill and love for creating music. “It’s a loud household,” Carol said with a laugh.