Hitting the Highest Notes
Nick Carozza is passionate about music, and he credits the many music educators with whom he’s studied for helping him progress toward the highest levels of professional success.
Carozza was introduced to jazz and classical music in elementary school. In sixth grade, he began playing clarinet, but he wasn’t satisfied. “I kind of enjoy being in the spotlight,” he explained. “So, I went up to the band director, and I said, ‘I don’t like playing the clarinet in the back. Is there something else I can do?’”
Carozza went home that day with a borrowed oboe, some reeds, and instructions to come back in two to three weeks to demonstrate what he’d learned. After one weekend, he returned, “insisting that I was going to play the oboe, and I haven’t really stopped.”
Carozza began taking music lessons from CMU faculty and participating in music festivals, such as CMU’s Best of the West, in middle and high school. While he considered going to college elsewhere, “the more time I spent on campus, the more I started to see a future. I started to see how much the programs here could grow me as an individual and how much one-on-one time I would get,” he explained, noting that a focus on undergraduates is a CMU strength.
In addition to earning his Bachelor of Music degree in 2022, Carozza graduated from CMU with minors in jazz studies and communications.
Carozza studied with William Aikens, PhD, while at CMU. He earned a master’s degree in music from the University of Alabama, studying with Mary Lindsey Bailey, PhD, formerly of the CMU faculty, who had been one of his early oboe instructors. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Carozza is studying with Stephen Caplan, PhD, whom he also met at CMU when Caplan came to campus to work with young musicians. Through his study of the oboe, Carozza learned other double-reed instruments, including the bassoon, the English horn, and the duduk, which is a precursor to the oboe. He also plays piano and keyboard.
Carozza is a proud and loyal Maverick. He describes his time at CMU as transformative, fun, and feeling like part of a family, or as he recalled, “a Mavily.” Pointing to older students who mentored him, he believes they changed his outlook on music, from “something that I enjoy to something that I could pursue professionally.”
While at CMU, he met his wife, Rebekah Carozza, who is a music educator in Las Vegas. When asked about his goals, Carozza laughed.
“I think every musician wants to win a Grammy at some point,” adding that he will soon audition for academic positions and professional orchestras. He currently plays professionally in Nevada, Colorado, and wherever his work takes him. In March 2025, Carozza was one of six national finalists in the woodwind division of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Performance Finals.
With so much respect for the talented educators who have shaped his career, Carozza takes pride in teaching music.
“I love teaching music. I love to continue bringing my passion for music and sharing it with other people,” he said, adding that he also enjoys music research.
When asked about the realities of being a professional musician, Carozza points to the skills he learned at CMU. As a Maverick, Carozza learned to be prepared, remain flexible, and be friendly, recognizing that musicians are part of a team.
“Mavericks are problem solvers,” he added. “The Maverick Spirit is an uplifting, positive, go-getter type of spirit.”