By Laura Clark

When Cliff Jackson was told two months ago he had won the Coach of the Year award, he thought someone was playing a joke.

“I didn’t know such an award existed,” said Jackson, UK assistant professor of voice and vocal coach.

However, Classical Singer magazine was in fact not playing a trick on the 54-year-old vocal professor.  Jackson was presented with the 2009 Coach of the Year award for his “thorough knowledge of the singer’s voice, languages, style and the history of the singing profession,” according to the article “Practice Makes Perfect” by UK alumnus Jason Vest.

While Jackson said he is more than grateful for the award, he is trying to keep a “level head.”

“I’m grateful for the honor, it’s a wonderful thing,” Jackson said. “But I don’t want it to become something I have to do any more than what I’ve been doing … I don’t want to slack up and let it get to my head.”

Besides his humility, Jackson’s hard work and genuine care for others were a few of the many reasons students like Reginald Smith nominated him.

“He works tirelessly … he puts the utmost care and passion into every single thing,” said Smith, a vocal performance and choral music education junior.

Smith, along with a group of UK students, found the Classical Singer’s advertisement for a new coach of the year. After the students sent a mass e-mail to those involved in the UK Opera Theatre, the magazine received many more letters than the required one for a nomination.

“(Jackson) never asks for applause because … he loves doing it,” Smith said. “How could we not applaud somebody like that? Plus he makes us sound better!”

From Gary, Ind., Jackson became drawn to music when he began to admire the work of his church’s choir director and organist. Once Jackson started participating in the church choir, he was encouraged to study music.

Jackson received his bachelor degree in music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, then moved to New York to pursue graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. There, his professional career as a vocal coach took off.

The UK professor has not only received a fellowship to coach at Julliard, but Jackson has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Royal Opera House’s Convent Garden, among others.

However, the humble Jackson said his success was not planned.

“My career as a vocal coach, more than anything because of all the things that happened in my life, has been providential,” Jackson said.