Dialog reporter
MAGNOLIA — When he was a young boy, Michael Kosior had a chance to get started playing a musical instrument.
“I was given the option of trying the saxophone or the drums. I thought the drums sounded a lot cooler,” he recalled recently.
He stuck with it, filling his house in Dover with the loud volume that drum practice entails. Now, he has two kits at home, and as he has become accomplished as a drummer, his parents and two siblings don’t mind the audio intrusion. Kosior, in fact, is so good that he recently was named to the all-state concert band and jazz ensemble for the second year.
The St. Thomas More Academy senior, who acknowledges that he doesn’t look like the typical drummer – “I don’t have the long hair” – has been involved in the music program at the school since he arrived from Holy Cross School in Dover, where he was in the drum line and band.
“In previous years (St. Thomas More has) had a live group play for our theater productions. I used to play in that during the performances,” he said. “The band has a spring and a winter concert. We play at pep rallies and stuff like that.”
Kosior, 17, knows he could have been part of a larger program at one of the local public high schools, but he is happy that he chose to attend St. Thomas More.
“It seemed like I’d get a more personal experience learning and everything. I don’t think I would have gotten the same thing if I had gone to Dover High School or even Polytech,” he said.
Every school has its cliques, “but even if you’re in one of those groups here, it all kind of finds its way to work together. You can still find a way into each friend group, spend time with everyone.”
He also lends his talent to the Milford Community Band, which plays concerts throughout the summer. He is one of the youngest members of that troupe.
“Everyone there is, like, an ex-professional, or they played with the Marine Band or with the Army. So, it’s really interesting to get that kind of experience working with them. That’s kind of nice,” Kosior said.
He says it would be nice to play in a band professionally, but that’s a tough way to make a living. He enjoys both jazz and rock.
“Mostly I just do it for the fun of it. I just enjoy doing it,” he said.
When he gets to college next fall, perhaps at the University of Delaware, he hopes to audition for various musical groups on campus, and he may minor in music. His likely major will be finance and a career as an accountant could be in the future.
“I’m still kind of looking at everything and what I want to do professionally. I just like working with numbers and money and stuff like that.”
To those who wonder if they’ll have to endure Kosior singing, he can assure them that won’t happen. But he may be interested in learning how to play the piano.
