Difficult. Rewarding. Inclusive. Unique. Life-changing.

Those are just some of the words three Ledyard High School students use to describe the school’s vocal music program. But they’re not the only ones who feel that way. Of the high school’s roughly 900 students, about one-third are in the 10 choirs.

They’re athletes, student government members and National Honor Society leaders. Some grew up wanting to be in one of the choirs. Others didn’t even know how to read music when they started high school.

“Kids are drawn to excellence, in whatever it is,” said Russell Hammond, director of several of the choirs. “I think the difference is, in a lot of schools, the arts aren’t allowed to flourish like they are here.”

This year, for example, vocal music students attended a workshop on Broadway in New York City with the cast and production team of “Wicked.” They performed “Les Miserables” in March. And, on April 25, the Select Singers choir aided the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of “Carmina Burana” — a piece Hammond said “everybody who’s involved in music knows.”

With such a busy schedule, involvement with the school’s choirs requires students to make choices, and that’s something several said is a good thing.

“I grew up 10 years plus from doing the musical and the play. I feel like I’m 25 — I’m 18 years old,” senior Kali Money, who performs in Select Singers and the school’s drama productions, said with a laugh. “I know how to manage time and I know the types of people I want to be with for the rest of my life.”

She said Hammond’s “life tangents” help, too.

“They’re so great,” agreed senior Ellie Phetteplace. Phetteplace, who’s been involved in many of groups over time, currently is a Chamber Choir section leader and the leader of after-school group Acabellas. “There’s stuff where you’re like, ‘Oh, Mr. Hammond,’ in class, but you think about it and you’re like, that’s accurate, I’m going to have to use that.”

Hammond said what he teaches is multi-faceted on purpose.

“One of the sayings I use is ‘you need to learn how to learn,’” he said. “And that you can apply to everything.”

Because of the number of choirs — ranging from the top tier Chamber Choir to beginning level men’s and women’s choruses and including after-school a cappella groups — Hammond said “everyone has a place” he or she can find.

It’s that hierarchy of choirs that students said sets Ledyard’s music program apart.

“You don’t hear about other schools’ programs because they might have 100 kids in choir, but they’re all in men’s chorus,” said junior Avery Davies, a member of Chamber and Concert choirs, as well as the after-school group Final Cut. “They don’t have that opportunity to take it a step higher than that. They think of it as a class, not as something you audition for, like a varsity sport.”

He’s not kidding. Hammond said that this spring, for example, 32 girls auditioned for Select Singers. Only 15 made it.

Despite experiencing that competition over the last four years, though, Phetteplace said she never felt out of her league.

“(Hammond) doesn’t challenge you with a goal that you’ll never be able to reach,” she said. “That’s what I like. He knows he wants you to go to this place and he’s going to push you to be there so you can be your best.”

Hammond said he likes to instill in students a sense of community.

“When they’re all working together for the same purpose, you can feel that in a room,” he said.

Phetteplace, who plans to study historic preservation and architecture in college, said she wants to join a cappella groups and ensembles there to ease the transition.

“Going from something like this to nothing would be too drastic,” she said.

But Davies, even though he said he’s going to college to be a music teacher — and called Hammond his “inspiration” for the decision — said nothing will match Ledyard High School’s vocal music program.

“This place is just sort of a sacred place for me,” he said. “It’s something you’ll never find again.”

l.boyle@theday.com

Twitter: @LindsayABoyle