David Scott

Professor

Affiliated Departments

617-747-2822

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David Thorne Scott is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist who performs in jazz, pop, and classical styles. He is also a composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. He often accompanies himself on piano and electric bass.

Cadence Magazine said, "He phrases like a saxophone player and is as slippery and hip as the young Mel Tormé," and Herb Wong wrote, "I haven’t been this moved by a performance of 'For All We Know' since Carmen McRae."

“At a time of great conflict in our country – when words often fail us – music has the power to bridge divides. David Thorne Scott explores the intersection of jazz and Americana, city and country, instrumentation and lyrics, to create lush compositions and covers that are unifying and healing in their beauty.”—Laurie Fanell

Courses Taught (7)

Rhythm Section Grooves for Vocalists I

ENVC-111

Vocal Jazz Choir

ENVC-322

Vocal Recording Ensemble

ENVC-480

Developing Your Musicianship

ILVC-220

Survey of Vocal Styles

PFSS-371

Private Instruction - Voice: All Levels

PIVC-XXX

Recital Preparation: Voice - All Levels

RPVC-XXX

Career Highlights

Performances as a guest artist with the Boston Pops, the Capital Jazz Orchestra, the Cape Symphony, Melrose Symphony, Blue Heron, and the Four Freshmen
Vocalist proficient in piano, bass, and trumpet
Albums include Thornewood, Hopeful Romantic, Refilled (with Vocalogy), Wonderful You (with Syncopation), and Shade
Studied with Phil Mattson, Mark Baxter, and Larry Lapin
Director of the Vintage Vocal Quartet
Guest artists on Thornewood album: Paula Cole, Peter Eldridge, Jason Palmer, Sara Caswell, Walter Smith III

Awards

Top 5 Jazz Vocal CD (Jazz Education Journal)
Berklee Faculty Fellowship: Research vocal group music of the swing era for "Boswells to Bop" project
Berklee Faculty Development Grant: Research for original musical "Animal Spirits," the story of economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)
Finalist in the New England National Association of Teachers of Singing's Song and Aria competition, Professional Division

In Their Own Words

"I try to remind students why we're doing music. It's about creating beauty, and it's something you enjoy, something your audience will enjoy. If you're singing out of fear, you have a 100 percent chance that it's not going to be right. Even if the notes are right, even if you're doing everything correctly, your listeners are going to be able to tell, and it's just going to ring false somehow. Now if you have a spirit of joy in creating music, you still might mess it up. But at least you give yourself a chance. I believe strongly in building competence and understanding, but I never want my students to forget that this is all in service of something that is beautiful and a pleasure."

"I am a performer, so I bring that experience to my teaching. I know how to choose an appealing song, how to write an exciting arrangement, how to make a logical set list. I am quite nerdy about vocal technique because I perform in many different styles. But also I emphasize the performance aspect: how you can change your body language, facial expressions, staging, instrumentation, to make a more profound impact on your audience."

"Berklee's voice department is unparalleled in its depth and breadth of expertise. The size of our faculty, and their wide-ranging experience, means there is something for nearly everybody. I don't think people realize that music school is hard. When my dad went to college, he thought he wanted to be a music major. He did that for a semester, couldn't hack it, so he got a biology degree and went to med school instead. I actually sat next to a guy at Fenway one time who said he was a Berklee student 20 years ago. He only lasted a semester; it was too hard. I asked him, 'What do you do now?' 'Oh, I'm an aerospace engineer. I work for NASA.' It's harder than a lot of people realize."