Long-time Hochstein voice instructor and voice department chair Bill Scott has retired from teaching at Hochstein, after completing 42 years on the faculty. Bill came to Rochester to teach in the Rochester City School District in 1969 and was recruited to teach at Hochstein 10 years later by the executive director at the time, Helen Tuntland Jackson.
He says, “I am very privileged to be able to say, in all of my years of teaching – whether it was at Hochstein or the public schools – that never once did I feel like I was going to work. It was always a pleasure, always a joy.”
Bill grew up in White Plains, New York, 23 miles from New York City. In high school, he had four years of music theory and took the NY State Music Theory Regents exam. He also was a member of the high school a cappella choir, male chorus, and barbershop octet.
Bill auditioned for voice in college and chose to attend SUNY Fredonia, since that was one of the few schools in NY state at the time that offered a music major. His piano teacher told him that he may not have the skills to be a piano major or a classical pianist, but that he would be a good accompanist – which proved to be true since he used the piano to accompany all of his students at Hochstein.
He took a brief break from college to spend three years in the U.S. Army, playing in the Army Band in Missouri – on tuba! In fact, he started playing the tuba in junior high school and continued doing so through high school. However, he never took part in the Tuba Christmas event which is now organized by Hochstein faculty member Jeremy Stoner.
Bill took pleasure in seeing his students making progress and “getting out of themselves,” as he put it. Matt Alexander (middle photo at right), who studied with Bill for more than 10 years, had never sung a solo in public before and went on to be a cantor at his church. One of his recent students, Philip Urai (pictured below with Bill at a recent concert), is in Hochstein Youth Singers and sang solos with HYS in the past year.
He has seen more than one generation of students in a family – for instance, the teenager whose mother had also studied with Bill when she was a teenager – and has seen his students go on to teach at Hochstein, like current voice instructor Jessica James and former voice instructor Deborah Conquest.
Bill was also involved in the development of young vocalists through his work with the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), serving as an All-State vocal adjudicator and frequent guest conductor for All-State and All-County choirs.
Since his retirement, Bill says he has been given some “honey-do” projects by his wife, Ruth, and both of them have been working on writing books, although she has already finished hers. He says that his book will certainly revolve around stories about teaching music. He also hopes to come back to attend concerts at Hochstein.
At the All-Faculty Meeting at Hochstein on September 7, Hochstein President & Executive Director Margaret Quackenbush recognized Bill for his many years at Hochstein, saying, “Bill has embodied our mission. He has welcomed all ages and levels of students, helping each one to achieve their goals. He has also served for many years as chair of the voice department and on the council of department chairs, and I have truly relied on his wisdom and perspective throughout all our time together. Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement and thank you for all you’ve contributed to our school.”