Age: 18
Family: Parents, Sara and Sorin; two younger siblings
Education: Senior at Westside High School
Also: Juster, who lives in the Rockbrook neighborhood, near 108th Street and West Center Road, is active in music and recently returned from a Los Angeles vacation that included numerous performances and a trip to the Grammy Awards.
Caroline Juster performed in front of iconic celebrities and music executive heavyweights during her swanky West Coast trip.
She strolled near some of Hollywood's biggest stars and saw live the recent Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
She also played music at a glitzy after-party, glimpsed the Pacific Ocean for the first time and made many new friends.
The 18-year-old senior at Westside High School in Omaha was one of 28 students from across the United States selected for the 2010 Grammy Jazz Ensembles, a program that blends young instrumentalists and vocalists and treats them to a 10-day California getaway.
While away, Juster, a trombonist, performed eight times with other students in the jazz band and recorded four songs at the Capitol Records studio.
Juster also played a few yards away from Elton John, whom she admires greatly, at a dinner fundraiser. She visited with some widely known jazz musicians, including Chick Corea. And while walking the red carpet outside the Staples Center in downtown L.A., Juster found herself surrounded by famous folk hamming it up for cameras before music's biggest night.
“It was surreal,” she said. “People were just everywhere.”
Inside the center, she enjoyed performances by Lady Gaga, Elton John and others. Pink's stage antics, she said, were incredible to see live.
Throughout her young life, Juster has been attracted to music. She was around age 6 when her mom introduced her to the piano. Since then, she's fiddled with the guitar and French horn and sang in choir.
“As I got older and older I started having really great experiences with music,” she said.
She has been accepted to Indiana University's musical program but has forthcoming auditions at Chicago's Northwestern University and Juilliard School in New York City. She plans to major in musical performance.
“I hope for the best,” she said. “I could be happy at any of those three schools.”
Her life isn't all music, though. She's a “Big” with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands, working with the same young girl for three years. She teaches Sunday school at her synagogue, Beth El, and has mentored young children through Girls Inc. of Omaha.
“I think it's important for kids to have good role models,” she said.
Contact the writer:
444-3198, chip.olsen@owh.com
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