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Caroline Vickstrom can point to the exact moment when she knew she wanted to be a choir teacher.

鈥淚t was after one of my conducting finals,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淚 walked out of class and I remember saying out loud, 鈥楬ow convenient. I love the thing I鈥檓 majoring in!鈥欌��

Vickstrom is finishing up a double degree in voice and choral music education this year. As she gets ready for student teaching in the fall, she鈥檚 been doing what many students do as they near the end of their time in college: She鈥檚 looking back on the road that led her here.

鈥淢y hint that I could do this as a career was actually when I took AP Music Theory in high school and really loved it. I was fascinated by chord structure, like math or science for music.鈥�

Amid preparing for her seventh and eighth Eklund Opera productions, this spring鈥檚 听补苍诲 Vickstrom and her peers are taking the budding vocal jazz program at the college to a new level for a March 5 concert in Grusin Music Hall.

Led by graduate student Brian Stone, three small ensembles of CU students will perform alongside Fairview High School鈥檚 jazz groups. On the program are classics like 鈥淕eorgia on My Mind鈥� and more contemporary hits like 鈥淭rue Colors鈥濃�攈arkening to the a cappella heyday of TV鈥檚 鈥淕lee.鈥�

This isn鈥檛 the first time CU鈥檚 vocal jazz ensembles have performed with area high school students. Vickstrom, who has been with the program since its inception at the hands of alumnus Paul Thompson, was there last year when the student group Table of Five collaborated with Mead High School in Longmont.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be cool to revisit that, but with a new group, a new director and a different high school. I think we鈥檙e going to be able to learn from them. Fairview鈥檚 jazz groups are solid!鈥�

Preparing for the concert has been a different kind of learning experience for the aspiring music educator. In addition to working with guest clinician Stephen Futrell in the days leading up to the concert, both the CU groups and the Fairview groups will rehearse together.

鈥淚鈥檓 getting close to student teaching, so I鈥檓 kind of on the border of these two roles of student and teacher,鈥� Vickstrom says. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be great to have the experience of singing in an ensemble of younger students, as opposed to being in front of them conducting.

鈥淗alf my brain will be paying attention to what the Fairview teacher is doing, and the other half will be listening to the people around me. I think I鈥檒l learn a lot from that both as a singer and a teacher.鈥�

For Vickstrom, who has been singing in choirs since elementary school in Evergreen, the chance to forge a connection with a new group of people is what makes teaching music so rewarding.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all so close in age, so it鈥檒l be a very collaborative experience. In our education classes, we talk a lot about our central philosophy and how it governs how we teach. I realized that my teaching is guided by this sense of belonging and community. That鈥檚 why I love teaching, and music enhances that.鈥�

As she recalls what she learned in that conducting class鈥攖he one that she says solidified her career path鈥擵ickstrom says it鈥檚 more than just the adrenaline high of standing in front of a great choir that makes her excited for the future.

鈥淚ntellectually, you鈥檙e never stuck. Music offers a little bit of everything. There鈥檚 the team-building aspect and supporting everyone else in a group. There鈥檚 also the math and breaking up a measure. And of course, the role history plays in a composition. You can dive into every subject through the lens of music. It鈥檚 a door to other things.鈥�

The combined concert with the CU Boulder and Fairview High School vocal jazz ensembles is Sunday, March 5 at 2 p.m. in Grusin Music Hall. Find more details on the Events page.