Elijah began playing the trumpet at age ten and studied under Mrs. Pam Sonnichsen and Mr. Lon Semansky, playing four years in Philharmonia (SDSYO) and one year in the SD Middle School All-State Band.

In high school, Elijah played in All-State Band for three years (as a principal player his senior year) and in All-State Orchestra one year. He received a superior rating each of the four years in the annual solo/ensemble contest. He participates in the award-winning Lincoln High School Jazz Collective and plays principal trumpet in Youth Orchestra (SDSYO). His favorite pieces that he has played are Russian Easter Overture by Rimsky-Korsakov (All-State Orchestra) and Overture to Candide by Bernstein (SDSYO).

Elijah will attend Loyola University Chicago to study chemistry and play trumpet in the Loyola Jazz program as well as in the Chicago community.