When Malachi Samedy was 18 months old, his father gave him a set of drumsticks and a drum pad. At age two, Malachi got his first “real” drum set and at age four, when it was clear that he had a real talent, Malachi was accepted into Mark Murphy’s School of Music in New Jersey. Considered to be a musical child prodigy—having learned and mastered music three times faster than kids twice his age at Mark Murphy’s—he also studies composition, Classical Piano and Big Band at The Thurnauer School of music while using his gift to make the world a better place. As his father Nasser Samedy says “He’s a giving soul. He has a huge heart.”

At age six, Malachi performed with grammy-award winning musician Roy Wooten in the Sending Our Love to Haiti benefit concert. At the age of seven, he was selected by CNBC to be a featured artist at the Night of Hope benefit. In 2016 he was selected to be one of over two thousand kids from around the world to perform at the World Children’s Festival on the White House lawn—he sang the Star Spangled Banner and rocked out on the drums. Last year, Malachi was also a featured performer in Season One of Little Big Shots with Steve Harvey.

Malachi was one of the original members of the smash-hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, School of Rock. He was able to work with Webber one-on-one, and attend the workshop held prior to the musical's Broadway opening. Nowadays he writes songs and practices piano, drums, and guitar for a few hours every day. He still takes lessons, and has had the good fortune to call master-drummer Billy Cobham a mentor. His father says “It’s been an amazing ride, but kids are only ‘kids’ for a little while. We want him to be able to enjoy that time.”

When Malachi isn’t playing or working with musicians or producers, he goes to school, spends time with family, rides bikes, plays Little Big Planet, and does other normal kids stuff. We’ve got a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more from Malachi Samedy. He hopes to attend Juilliard School in New York City, and after meeting with Billy Drummond—Professor of Jazz Drums at Juilliard—early this year, there’s a chance he’ll begin college prep courses later in 2017.

Find out more: malachimusic.com

photo: courtesy J. Ryan Roberts