Students trickled into the Wrigley Theatre, relieved to be released from long block, their voices rumbling through the auditorium. Unique props lined the stage: guitars, a bass, a microphone, and an amp.

After just another moment, Upper School math teacher Freddie Swinson appeared, seemingly undaunted by the crowd as she neared the microphone.

Silence filled the venue, suddenly ruptured by the first chord of Upper School computer science teacher Bobby Oommen’s bass. The sound bounced off the walls, only to be complemented by the sound of Ms. Swinson’s voice.

When people try to imagine the childhood of a math teacher, they often visualize relentless counting, self-driven equation solving, and a natural love for numbers. What they don’t imagine, however, is a future mathematician falling asleep to the comforting sound of music from her parents’ speakers in the living room.

Between these speakers, endless musicals, and her church’s choir group, Ms. Swinson grew up surrounded by music. Entranced by the melodies, she chased opportunities to sing time and time again.

“Since middle school, I really loved theater, and the first time my school did a musical was when I was a freshman,” Ms. Swinson said. “My high school did ‘The Sound of Music,’ which was one of those movies I used to watch as a kid, so I was really familiar with it. I ended up getting the role of Ms. Abbess, which, compared to the parts I had gotten in the past, was a really big part.”

“I think that was one of the first moments of realization where I was like, ‘Okay, I really enjoy acting and singing, but I think singing is what’s really, really sticking out to me,’” Ms. Swinson said.

As her passion for singing grew, Ms. Swinson strengthened her voice by continuing to perform throughout high school and college. Despite never receiving professional vocal training, she realized she could perform in a variety of vocal ranges. The main female vocal ranges are alto and soprano, with alto being the lower of the two ranges. Some singers, like Ms. Swinson, defy these categories as “mezzos,” with voices between the aforementioned types.

“I would label myself as an alto [since] I would much prefer to sing in the lower range,” Ms. Swinson said. “However, based on what I said earlier, Mother Abbess is definitely a first soprano role.”

Ms. Swinson’s vocal flexibility presents many opportunities on stage. Though she is not currently participating in musical theater, she still imagines herself taking on roles in a few of her favorite musicals.

“Playing the girl in ‘Once’ [by Enda Walsh] is on my list. Another dream role would be Jenna in ‘The Waitress,’” she said.

Ms. Swinson explained that these ambitions are intertwined with her relationship to music, which extends far beyond a stage, microphone, or single role.

“Singing is definitely relaxing. Sometimes I feel like I’d rather sing than talk,” Ms. Swinson said. “There are some times where I won’t say good morning to a class, I will sing good morning—it just naturally happens. Half the time, I don’t even consciously think about it. It’s a very natural thing, and it brings me comfort.”

At Latin, Ms. Swinson channels this interest into extracurricular activities, where she works alongside students coaches others in both Latones—Latin’s male choir group—and student-faculty chorale.

“It’s been a big change, of course, having her go from math teacher to a cappella advisor, but now she goes beyond just being a faculty member,” junior Saúl Espinoza, a previous geometry student of Ms. Swinson and current Latones member, said. “She always comes in with a positive energy–even if we’re all tired, since we usually start at 7:30 a.m.”

Saúl described how this energy showed up in the classroom as well. “She always did everything she could to make sure I understood something, and I could tell she cared,” he said. “Even when I was out sick or didn’t turn in homework on time, she always reached out to me and made sure I was okay.”

Senior Izzy Schafer, a member of the student-faculty chorale, expressed similar feelings about Ms. Swinson’s musical advising. She has seen many similarities between the supportive nature of previous choirs she’s been a part of and the kind of environment that Ms. Swinson creates.

“She’s just great,” Izzy said. “Ms. Swinson’s super nice and dedicated to what she does, and [she’s] always very encouraging to all of us. She always keeps us on track, helps us get organized, or steps in to sing someone’s part if they’re not here.”

Her students attest to her singular skill in both performance and advising.

“It’s always impressive whenever she sings the low male ranges in [the] student faculty chorale,” Izzy said. “She’s truly a really nice person to have as an advisor, and she’s very musically talented.”