Schools
Whiz Kid: Performing is in Baritone's Blood
With a velvet voice and an interest in international affairs, Dearborn's Benjamin Timpf is taking his performing skills across the pond.
Name: Benjamin Timpf
Age: 15
School:
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Accomplishment: Timpf, who will be a sophomore at Edsel Ford in the fall, has been recognized for his outstanding vocal performance by receiving superior ratings at the District Solo Ensemble and the District Musical Theater Solo and Ensemble Festival at Howell High School.
A seasoned performer at a relatively young age, Timpf will also take his talent for Polish dance overseas. As part of the POLANIE Song and Dance Ensemble, he will travel to Poland July 18 to perform.
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Key to awesomeness: Like many young people, Timpf likes performing, but what sets him apart is the fact that he is a polished performer who has put a lot of effort into being good at it.
In fact, Timpf was already working with the vocal music teacher at Edsel before he was actually in high school.
“I started singing just in the regular music class in elementary school,” he said. “I eventually joined the Dearborn Schools Honor Choir; I then was referred to the vocal teacher at Edsel, Mr. Robert Doyle, for private voice lessons. I have been studying with (him) for three years.”
The lessons have paid off. In the past several months, Timpf has also been recognized by the National Association of Teachers of Singing, which recently gave him an honorable mention at a competition.
An important facet of Timpf’s success in front of an audience, he said, is the support he received at Edsel.
“The biggest factor in my success has been no doubt, my family and my voice teacher, Mr. Doyle, (and) the teachers who see me perform and just give me a compliment when they have heard me sing,” Timpf said.
Recently, Timpf performed two songs for the Dearborn School Board.
Outside of school, Timpf takes part in the POLANIE group, as well as several theater groups in southeast Michigan. He is a member of the International Thespian Society and the Dearborn Area Theater Association. Timpf is a member of Boy Scout Troop 1148 in Dearborn. He is the son of Mary and Donald Timpf, of Dearborn.
Academically, Timpf said his favorite subjects are history and German. He plans on attending Michigan State University, where he hopes to major in International Relations, and then move onto law school. Timpf said he would like one day work for the United Nations or the U.S. State Department.
But he’s not likely to stop singing any time soon.
“I am planning on continuing to sing through college,” he said. "After that, who knows?”
Do you know a student who lights up the room–or even an auditorium–when they walk into it? Do you know a student who is following big dreams? If so, you may have a Whiz Kid in your midst.
Email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Jessica Carreras at Jessica.carreras@patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight. You never know who may be smiling at you from the computer screen.
