Music Is Life for Senior Ben Mini

Whether it’s through his time in the Reading music program, playing gigs with his bands, producing albums, or putting on his annual benefit concert, RMHS senior Ben Mini has been able to use his unique musical talents to not only benefit himself, but greatly impact the community around him.

Throughout his time in the RMHS school district, Ben Mini has always been known amongst his peers as a kind, welcoming, funny, and of course talented person. As described by Kevin Kinney (‘22), “ Ben is an amazing musician who never fails to make you laugh.” When recalling his time recording music with Ben, Dionysios Georgopoulos (‘22) stated, “Ben always strives to make the recording process professional but also a ton of fun at the same time.”

Before stepping foot into Wood End Elementary School, Ben was already establishing his love for music.  “I have always been around music ever since I was a baby. My dad was always listening to music and my two uncles were both guitar players.” At the age of 5, Ben was given his first instrument, a small acoustic guitar. From then on, he would fall in love with craft. For the next twelve years, Ben dedicated countless hours developing his talent, taking lessons multiple times a week, practicing everyday, and listening to hours and hours of music. Today, Ben’s main instrument is the bass, but he also plays the guitar, piano, trumpet, and even sings a little bit.

Ben has dedicated much of his time to the Reading Music Program. He has been a key contributor to the middle school jazz band, middle school concert band, middle school choir, high school jazz band, high school marching band, jazz combo, and high school symphonic band. Outside of school, Ben has also been a member of multiple bands, most notably his band CBTWEEN. CBTWEEN consists of Ben and Central Catholic senior Cate Mangione. The two have been playing music together for over five years, often gigging at local restaurants and town festivals.

CBTWEEN is often the headline band at Ben’s Big Benefit Music Show, which is Ben’s annual concert to raise money for charity. Ben’s Big Benefit Music Show has taken place five years in a row, unfortunately cancelled these past two years due to COVID. It is a huge event that takes place at Memorial Park, where all the money raised goes to the charities “Little Kids Rock” and “Cradles to Crayons.” Because of this Ben has received lots of notoriety, most notably when Channel 7 did a segment in 2017, highlighting Ben and the event. 

Once COVID hit and Ben was unable to perform live anymore, he turned towards producing music. Ben explains, “Early Quarantine, I started to experiment more with what recording music actually was.” Ben would spend nearly all day in his home studio creating songs, producing beats, and posting his projects to social media. Ben’s love for producing music reached an all time high when he was hired by recent RMHS 2021 graduate Addison Clapp to create an album.

After months of hard work, the two released Clapp’s debut album, entitled A Drive Down Hollywood Boulevard. The album consists of 11 songs, for which Ben produced and played nearly every instrument on. When asked to describe what it was like working with Ben, Clapp explained, “Ben’s one of the most influential people I’ve gotten to work with. His production on my first album was so fantastic and I am so proud of the work we did on our projects. He is an amazing talent and it was a privilege to work with him.” Ben describes the significance of the experience by stating, “Producing the album was what made me want to do this for the rest of my life, and why I’m going to go to college for it.”

Ben is open to working with anyone who wants to record music. He says “If you are ever interested in recording music or you have an idea that you want to express, feel free to contact me.”