Flandreau senior hits high note with rare All-State Band honor

Ben Kulm has spent years mastering his sound and all that dedication just paid off.
The Flandreau High School senior was recently recognized as one of the only students locally to ever earn All-State music honors every year of high school and all three years of middle school. Thats seven straight years of recognition.
Kulm said it feels good to be acknowledged for the commitment.
It means a lot, Ive spent hundreds of hours practicing and it takes a lot of discipline and Im glad it finally paid off, he told the Moody County Enterprise.
There was no one there to tell you to practice, its on you to do what you need to or not, so Im glad. Its a weight off my shoulders after four years of being stressed about All-State. It was all worth it, the effort that I put into it.
So howd he end up with the tuba of all instruments? Turns out, it started with a cucumber and when he was younger.
I wanted to be different and the tuba was just a big instrument and honestly, Larry from Veggie Tales was a big inspiration for me, Kulm said.
In one of the openings, Larry has a big sousaphone on, which is the marching tuba. I saw him and just thought that I really wanted to play that instrument.
Music has been a huge part of Kulms school years, and not just the performances its also led to some of his closest friendships, especially in his tuba section, which consists of just him and one other player, Abe Streitz.
Corine and I are really proud of his accomplishments, said his father, Ted Kulm.
He always works super hard and puts everything he has into everything he does, whether it is music or track.
Hes already earned a music scholarship to South Dakota State University and said he plans to keep playing throughout college and beyond. Kulm also sings and writes original music.
What I like about music is its completely subjective, one person might really enjoy one type of music or sound and another person can have a completely different taste … so whatever you want your music to be … it can be.
As for a career, music will likely be more of a side gig. Kulm said he plans to study mechanical engineering another passion of his that hes excited to explore.