Becker Hits High Note In 4-H

For Felixe Becker, years of dedication to music have turned into a statewide 4-H honor — and a trip to Atlanta, Ga.

The 16-year-old recently received a state award for his work in 4-H’s self-determined, or “Design Your Own,” project, where he focused on music composition. The recognition is the latest accomplishment in a musical journey that began 12 years ago.

Felixe has been involved with 4-H for 10 years, including two years as a Cloverbud. He is now in his eighth year as an official member and belongs to the Missouri River Ranchers 4-H Club.

The Design Your Own project gives 4-H members the opportunity to pursue an area of interest that may not fit into one of the organization’s traditional project categories.

“The Design Your Own is basically a project that isn’t in the 4-H system, and you get to make your own project,” Felixe said.

For Becker, music was a natural choice.

He has played piano for 12 years and also plays violin and baritone, along with singing. In recent years, he has expanded his musical interests into composition and digital music production.

For this year’s project, Felixe set a straightforward goal for himself: create a song. Using FL Studio, he composed an original piece that was also incorporated into a digital media video he created for Business Professionals of America. Felixe said one of the biggest challenges was deciding what kind of music would best fit the project.

“I think the most challenging part of making the song was choosing the genre, because there are a lot of genres you can do,” he said.

It wasn’t Felixe’s first experience with composition. He has been composing music for about three years and previously created a piano piece using MuseScore for an MTNA composition competition.

His musical experience extends well beyond composing.

Felixe has participated in music festivals, performed at church and taken part in honor music events. He has attended Northern Plains and Northwest music festivals and previously played violin with the Prairie Symphonette in Scobey for two years.

One of the opportunities he is most proud of came through Fort Peck Summer Theatre, where he played violin in the band for “Honky Tonk Laundry.”

“Not a lot of people get that opportunity,” Felixe said.

He was later invited back to play keyboard for “Footloose,” but was unable to participate because of a conflicting 4-H trip.

Felixe has also found himself on the other side of a musical performance, accompanying vocalists rather than taking center stage. He has accompanied Harper Anderson for a vocal solo and said accompanying another musician requires a di_erent set of skills.

“When you’re just performing, you can do it in your own style,” Felixe said. “When you’re accompanying someone, you have to stay with their style and keep with them, but the focus is not you. It’s on the performer.”

Among his other proud accomplishments is advancing to the state music festival with all of his solos and ensembles in one year.

While music has played a large role in his life, Felixe said he currently sees it remaining an important hobby rather than becoming his full-time career.

Receiving the state 4-H award marked the goal Felixe had set for his self-determined project, and although he does not currently plan to continue the same project next year, he has no desire to leave music behind.

“That doesn’t stop me from continuing to perform,” he said.

The state award was not Felixe’s only success through 4-H. He also earned first place in a video competition. Unlike the state award, which was selected through an application process, the video category involved competing against other 4-H members.

Both accomplishments provided Felixe a path to attend the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta.

Felixe said he is especially looking forward to seeing a new part of the country and connecting with other young people.

“I’m looking forward to exploring Atlanta,” he said, “as well as being able to meet other people from across the country.”

The trip is scheduled around Thanksgiving, with Felix traveling to Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day and National 4-H Congress running through Dec. 1.

Behind Felixe’s accomplishments are family members and teachers who have encouraged him along the way. He credits his mother as his biggest supporter, along with his grandmother, aunt, band teacher and longtime piano teacher.

After a decade in 4-H and 12 years of making music, Felixe has built an impressive list of accomplishments. But whether he is composing a song on a computer, playing piano at church, accompanying another student or performing violin from a theater pit, music remains a constant passion in his life.