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It’s fair to say that—due to the COVID-19 pandemic—recent months have been difficult for most of us. This year’s Outstanding Students rose to the challenge and modeled the way forward.

Senior flutist Claire Gunsbury—voted by the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder College of Music faculty as the Outstanding Graduating Senior for Spring 2021—found opportunities to focus on projects close to her heart. She graduates today with a Bachelor of Music degree in flute and the Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship, having worked on a music wellness app for her capstone project; the app aims to help musicians find a way to manage their practice time and their work in a healthy way. 

Additionally, the 2017-2021 recipient of the Sher Distinguished Musician Scholarship is also an avid chamber musician who has premiered new student works for flute through the Pendulum New Music series. “ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ has given me a real sense of community and has supported me in my different interests," says Gunsbury, who further serves as 2021 teaching artist for the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Lullaby Project. "I’ve been so lucky to have [Professor of Flute] Christina Jennings as my teacher and to have been able to collaborate with so many amazing people. I’m definitely going to miss it here!”

Tune in at 2 p.m. today to hear Gunsbury's speech for this year’s graduating class.

Other students, too, have flourished at the College of Music and in the local community. Izzy Fincher—a junior working toward a Bachelor of Music in guitar, a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and the Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship—interned at Sharps and Flatirons, a Boulder-based classical music blog. “I had my first taste of professional music journalism and I loved it," she says. "In the future, I hope to work part-time in the industry, when I’m not practicing and performing guitar.” 

As arts editor for the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Independent, Fincher further strives to cover diverse, underrepresented artists and creatives in the Boulder area. “This semester, I focused on writing about local AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] creatives who are exploring and representing their identities,” she explains. “As a Japanese-American woman, I feel particularly connected to this work.” 

And Mikaela Schindler, a freshman music education major with a choral emphasis, came to ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder in the footsteps of many of her musical mentors. “I knew from my audition day that ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ would be my home,” she says. “This year has undoubtedly been the most stressful and craziest year of my life, but I’m so thankful for pushing myself through … and for the music that helped me get there.” 

Congratulations to Claire, Izzy and Mikaela!