Cody Nelson has a passion for teaching music to young people. While some adults might hesitate to enter the world of pre-teens and teens, Nelson enjoys jumping right in.

After four years teaching choir at the Academy of Innovation (AOI), Nelson will be taking over as the director of music at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Vicksburg and as director at the Conservatory of the Fine Arts.

A graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi, Nelson found a home in Vicksburg after receiving a degree in choral education.

“Teaching is my whole heart,” Nelson said. “It’s everything I love; that’s what I feel God has called me to do. That’s what my passion is.”

When the former music director at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Nick Joslin, encouraged Nelson to apply for the opening, he hesitated to leave his job with the school district. Eventually, he began to see the possibility to expand his teaching role in the position as both head of the Conservatory and music director. Now, Nelson said, he’ll be able to reach beyond the dividing lines of a school district to all children, whether it be public, private or home school.

“My hope is, through the conservatory, to reach more kids,” Nelson said. “I can reach the homeschool kids. I can reach all the public-school kids. I can reach the private-school kids and just try to support where I can.”

Like many institutions, the conservatory suffered due to covid. Nelson hopes to boost enrollment and breathe new life into the conservatory.

“One of the biggest things I want to do is to start a youth chorus, a seventh-through-twelfth-grade community chorus,” Nelson said. “I’m starting that in July. We’re going to have a summer boot camp to start learning music. Once the school year starts, I hope to meet twice a week (for the youth chorus).”

Nelson is bringing in a brass and woodwinds teacher, as well as a new arts instructor. He plans for lessons to be open to youth, as well as adults. Voice and string teachers who have long been pillars of the conservatory will remain, he said.

Nelson will teach voice and piano at the conservatory. He said he enjoys composing and arranging music and will also teach composition to students who are interested. While at AOI, he arranged music for an award-winning a cappella eighth-grade group that was one of only three in the state.

“We’ll have some summer workshops,” Nelson said. “We’ll meet once a week for eight weeks.”

Depending on interest, workshops that are planned are basket-weaving, painting, drawing, digital arts and possibly crochet.

“The goal is for both adults and children (to have classes). I would love to have some classes with bring-your-kids type things,” Nelson said. “I’m hoping we have so many kids interested in lessons that we have to add multiple teachers for multiple instruments.”

Nelson also hopes to open the conservatory to less-fortunate children, he said.

“We’re trying to offer scholarship opportunities, to fundraise, trying to get the community involved to support our kids,” he said. “I want the conservatory to give back as well. With the Community (Youth) Choir, I want them to give back, not just with concerts or fine arts exhibitions. I want them to do service projects, like cleaning up roads, or serving people. They need those experiences. They need to give back to our town.”

In his role at Holy Trinity, Nelson will direct the choir and play the piano. He said he is learning to play the organ.

When he isn’t teaching music, Nelson said he enjoys hanging out with fellow teachers and acting out small murder-mystery parties and playing vintage board games. He also said he enjoys cooking and baking.

Nelson said he looks forward to using his experience at Holy Trinity.

“I have a heart for this community,” he said. “My biggest goal is to find a way to give back across denominations, whether you go to church or don’t. My goal here is to serve.”

Nelson said leaving AOI was hard, but the future is exciting.

“Leaving AOI really breaks my heart,” he said. “I love those kids. But I’ll be able to reach so many more kids in a way I couldn’t before. There are so many kids out there that need help. I find so much joy in teaching, and I’ll still get to do that at the conservatory.”