Name: Adam Billingham
Age: 17
School: Wheaton North
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Key to Awesomeness: Adam Billingham is a senior at Wheaton North High School and is active in the Marching Band, Math Club and his youth group at College Church.
He said music is a part of his life because he comes from a musical family.
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“My dad plays piano for a living at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago … . My mom loves to sing and write songs. My brother and sister both play piano and another instrument and I play piano and percussion,” Billingham said.
Billingham plays bass drum, mallet instruments, snare, and timpani in the Wind Ensemble at Wheaton North. Also at North, he is involved in the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo. He has been playing percussion since fifth grade and also plays drums for his church youth group.
“Making songs in Garage Band is another music-related hobby of mine as well,” he added.
In the fall, Billingham plays snare for the Marching Band is the drumline section leader this year.
“I really enjoy playing drums because the technique took a while to learn, but now all that practicing pays off. Marching Band drumming is fast and rhythmically challenging so it requires accuracy and attention to detail. I prefer things that are cut-and-dry, like math, to things that have no ‘correct’ answers, such as English. I also like getting things perfect and so drumming fits my desire for precision,” Billingham explained.
Although he doesn’t play any sports through school, he enjoys playing pick-up games with his friends for fun. Basketball is his favorite.
His favorite school subject is math. He has been on Wheaton North's Math Team for three years and has won medals. Another hobby of Billingham’s is making movies with his friends.
“I like movies in general and the art of film … timing of cuts, types of shots, storytelling, pacing fascinates me,” he said.
As far as college goes, Billingham is uncertain of where he wants to go or what to major in, but has several ideas to start with. He is considering the University of Michigan where his brother will be a sophomore, along with the University of Illinois, Stanford, USC, UCLA, and Vanderbilt to name a few. He is considering a major in computer science, engineering, or film.
“I'll see where God wants me,” he said.
