In the theatre world they're called triple threats: performers who can sing, dance and act. But add to that the ability to play an instrument and compose music and you've got talent out of the ball park. One local 14-year-old student does all that and has written a composition that's taken him on an amazing journey.
Commodore Primous is only a freshman but is a stand-out among his peers at Pebblebrook High School's performing arts magnet program.
Commodore doesn't live anywhere near the Mableton school, but says that being in his element is well worth the commute.
"I feel like [music] is a huge part, like it actually defines me, you know, as a person," Primous said.
In school he focuses on voice and dance, but Commodore has also mastered five other instruments, including his favorite -- the piano.
A piece that Commodore wrote in the eighth grade, "The Triumph of Day," caught the attention a friend, who urged him to enter it in to a contest sponsored by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The winner would have their composition performed in a live concert by the symphony itself.
Commodore's piece was named the winner.
"I was like 'wait,did I win that?' and she said, ‘Yes.' And I was like 'whoo,' I was bouncing off the walls, I was so excited," he said.
Michael Kurth, an Atlanta Symphony musician who judged the contest and helped fine tune the piece, had high praise for Commodore.
"It had layers, it had rhythm parts and it had harmony parts and it had accompaniment parts," Kurth said. "It takes a talented youngster to write something that's both beautiful and sophisticated."
The high school freshman has his composition played to a packed house by a symphony orchestra in front of fellow students.
"It's really cool that I got to be a part of this experience and hear the orchestra play my song, and they played it beautifully," Primous said.
The 14-year-old said he's simply doing what he loves to do.
"I sleep, I wake up, eat and play music until I eat again and then sleep," he said.
Musical talent runs in Commodore's family -- his mom, dad and younger sisters all play instruments.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is going to include Commodore's piece in their regular public concert series on April 4 and 5.
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