DENTON (UNT), Texas -- For the past 14 years, Dean James C. Scott has led the largest music school in the nation, the University of North Texas College of Music, raising tens of millions of dollars for the program and helping position the college as an international leader for the education of musicians in areas as diverse as historical performance on period instruments and experimental computer music composition. The evidence of his near decade and a half of effort and that of the college's faculty can be heard in the campus' concert halls and live streaming broadcasts of performances. It also is clear in school rankings, such as long established performing arts industry magazine Musical America's inclusion of the UNT College of Music in their list of the best music schools internationally along with other schools like Yale, Juilliard and the Guildhall School. At the end of 2015, Scott will be stepping down from his post to return to full-time teaching, leaving a college that is well-positioned for continued success.
"There have definitely been changes in perception relating to our role as a huge comprehensive program with expectations for top quality in all areas," Scott said. "It is not a niche program. It has the largest number of music students of any university in the country, and such a program needs to have diversity of curricula and consistently high quality, as well as to be perceived that way. It gives me great pleasure to hear students say that such a large college has the feel of a small school with the caring that is associated with smaller programs."
During his tenure, UNT College of Music received millions of dollars in donor funding to establish its first endowed chairs – Opera and Orchestral Studies. Scott also helped develop doctoral programs in jazz and ethnomusicology, hired a number of world renowned artists and scholars as faculty, and created a graduate artist certificate program, which offers an intensive two-year study in music performance at the graduate level.
Scott is known for encouraging collaboration between students and faculty, even performing in recitals with students. He says he models this aspect of his leadership philosophy after a renowned pianist, Rudolph Serkin, who successfully used a similar model in developing his summer program at the prestigious Marlboro Music School and Festival in Vermont.
"When faculty members play music with students, it is not just a statement of the value placed on the students' abilities, but an engagement that can be inspirational to both generations," Scott said. "We learn from our students as they learn from us. In the academic world, researchers routinely work with students as junior partners in their research. It can be the same in an artistic endeavor."
Under his leadership, the university's music programs have expanded to include two full symphony orchestras. His assistance with the development of a formal chamber music program and a Center for Chamber Music Studies has allowed for performance by students at the highest national and international competitive levels.
Scott also championed infrastructure improvements for the UNT College of Music that have maximized the educational and performance environments. The music building was updated with the renovation of its concert hall, now known as the Paul Voertman Concert Hall, a 380-seat venue with state of the art audio and lighting. There have also been updates to the Murchison Performing Arts Center, the acquisition of concert-quality pipe organs in the Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall and the Main Auditorium, and updates to other practice/recital halls and common spaces to encourage student interaction and development.
"Jim Scott is one of the most respected leaders in the profession," said Warren Henry, who is the senior associate dean for academic affairs and will take on the role of interim dean during Spring 2016. "He has definitely expanded the UNT College of Music's image both nationally and internationally."
About the UNT College of Music
The College of Music is one of the largest and most respected comprehensive music schools in the world. Approximately 1,600 music students attend the college each year, participating in nearly 70 widely varied ensembles while engaged in specialized studies in performance, composition, conducting, jazz studies, music education, music history, music theory or ethnomusicology. Music students, alumni and faculty have made appearances on the world's finest stages, have produced numerous recordings with many receiving Grammy awards and nominations, and have written influential texts in a variety of areas in music scholarship. Distinguished University alumni can be found around the globe in top music ensembles, opera companies, universities, and schools