It is uncommon to find a high school student who already knows what they want to do when they graduate. Unlike the majority, junior Jameson Falconer has had his life goal set since eighth grade– becoming a musician. Since picking up piano at only 3 years old, he has had his mind set on music. Falconer dedicates an average of 15 hours a week on his singing and piano, constantly balancing the workload of a high-school-junior whilst continuing to gain exposure and perfect his craft.

Attending fifth grade at the Ladue Fifth Grade Center, Falconer’s talent had already begun imprinting an impression on his fellow classmates and teachers. Before getting to know him over the course of seven years, music teacher Thomas Lowery was already impressed by the promise radiating from young Falconer.

“Just the first day I met him I could just tell he was a good musician by the way he acted in a music class,” Lowery said, “He was not afraid to just come over and sit down and start playing the piano in front of everyone. If you ask for a volunteer to sing something his hand was the first one out and he would happily stand up.”

In his sophomore year, Falconer was a finalist in the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition, where students who attend schools in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area compete on the Fox Stage for college scholarships, cash awards, prizes, and public appearance opportunities.

“My biggest performance was when I performed at the Fox,” Falconer said, “There were over a thousand people in the audience, but you can’t really see them because of the lights. You can’t focus on people cheering, though, because you have to pay attention to what you’re doing.” 

Although he ultimately did not place first at the competition, Falconer received the most amount of prizes given to an individual, surpassing even the winners with the sum of his grants and scholarships.

“I was the only one out of everyone to get three awards,” Falconer said, “The first one was $1,000 in scholarship money, the second one was a camp in St. Louis that was paid for where I got to work with professional musicians, and another one was a studio session that was paid for and I got to record whatever I wanted.”

Lowery has found the reason so many are drawn to the teen’s music and dedication.

“He is a genuine person– and that’s just part of who he is,” Lowery said, “Music is just a part of his life and he’s just a serious and passionate as he as a student coming to class every day. He takes what he does very seriously and works hard.”

Even during his day-to-day activities, Falconer often finds himself unable to control his passion.

“There are times where we’ll be out shopping and he’ll randomly think of a song lyric to write down,” Falconer’s close friend junior Alexis Powell said, “Or if there’s a song playing in the mall, he’ll sing along to it for half a second and then put his own little twist on it with like a run–I learned that term from him. The best part is he’s confident in doing it all in public no matter who’s around.”

A focused jazz and R&B musician, Falconer has taken multiple steps to continue moving forward with his passion. As his taste and skills have developed over the years, Falconer stays optimistic about his future. Aiming for Berklee’s College of Music– one of the most famous and competitive creative schools with only a 34 percent acceptance rate– and becoming more dedicated toward songwriting.

“I thought I knew everything about it,” Falconer said, “But then as I got older, I realized that there’s other factors that play into music– and that you can do a lot more than what you think you can do.”