BIO

Scott is a life-long musician, though he didn't begin to identify with his musical gifts until grade school. 

One day in Kindergarten, Scott's chorus teacher, Mrs. Chisolm, singled Scott out during a rehearsal.  Thinking he'd done something wrong, he timidly looked up at the teacher, who then asked him to sing the line again.  She loudly exclaimed before the class, "Child, you have a fine voice!  You are going to sing the solo for this song at the spring concert!"

Wouldn't you know, for his first public performance Scott came down with laryngitis and squeaked and squawked his way through the whole song!  His teacher thought it was nerves!

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Scott's exposure to piano was equally accidental (or providential?).  At the age of 11 he received a Casio keyboard as a Christmas present (what '90s kid didn't?).  By dinnertime that same day he had learned to play several Christmas carols by ear.  Astonished, his mother asked if he'd like to take piano lessons.  He excitedly shouted "YES!!," and so began a lifetime courtship with the keyboard.  Scott has studied piano with Amy Fainer, Cheryl Young, Yelena VanDoren (whose teaching lineage from Moscow directly connects back to Beethoven!), and Ya-Ting Chang.

Scott is an accomplished pianist, organist, Celtic Harpist, and Baritone soloist, and is a frequent guest performer and worship leader. 

He began composing almost as soon as he began playing.  He still remembers his first composition, "Heaven's Tune," which uses a mere 6 pitches.  He played and sang in his family's church, and continued to nurture his gifts. He was first recognized locally when his High School's Concert Choir performed his first original a cappella choral composition, "In the Valley of the Lord," for the spring concert his senior year.  

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Most recently, his inspirational anthem "Be the Church," has received national attention as an inspirational call to justice and action for a long-struggling Church.  It has been featured in synod and conference gatherings, won a national hymn competition with the United Church of Christ Musicians' Association in 2019, and was even performed by virtual choirs during the Pandemic.

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Faith and music has always been a primary intersection of Scott's life.  Scott serves as Minister of Worship and the Arts at Colonial Park United Church of Christ in Harrisburg PA, where he joined the staff in 2008.  He is a graduate of Messiah University and Lancaster Theological Seminary, holding the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music and Organ, and Master of Divinity.  Scott became fully ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the United Church of Christ in 2019.  Now as a liturgical artist, Scott works to create multi-sensory worship experiences that employ the creative use of music, sound, spoken word, sight, shape, and movement to deepen one’s connection with the Holy.  

Outside of CPUCC, Scott serves the community of Lancaster Theological Seminary as a worship leader and adjunct instructor.  He is also a private instructor of piano and voice, and sings with the award-winning, Grammy-nominated Susquehanna Chorale.