Executive Summary (2018 and 2023)
The following Executive Summaries (2018 and 2023) were submitted in applications for promotion. I received tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2018; my materials are currently under review for promotion to full professor.
2023
My primary teaching responsibilities as Associate Professor of Music are to provide individual voice training, lead and direct opera and musical theatre projects, and teach classes within the music department and general education curriculum as needed. I created a class for a study abroad semester in London and taught within the Honors program as well. In 2021 I was the recipient of the High Point University “Creativity and Innovation in Teaching” Award. A strong advocate for experiential learning, I often facilitate and mentor student performances in the community. I provided opportunities for my students to perform as headline entertainment for two Greensboro Symphony Guild gala fundraisers at the Proximity Hotel, in two dinnertime programs at the String & Splinter Club, numerous performances at Pennybyrn retirement home and Providence Place Assisted Living Facility, featured presentation at the She ROCKS Triad Dinner & Silent Auction (She ROCKS exists to bring awareness and attention to ovarian cancer through outreach, funding of ground breaking research and by helping patients who are undergoing treatment in our communities), bi-annual campus performances of musical theatre and opera scenes, musical direction for three HPU mainstage musicals, a full concert production of Die Fledermaus with small orchestra and digital background by HPU Professor Brad Lambert, and a student workshop performance of the commissioned opera Galaxies in Her Eyes, upon which I will elaborate in the research and creative activity section.
One of my top priorities at High Point University is including student access to innovative artists for masterclasses, recitals, and mentorship. Recent guests include Manley Pope (Roger in RENT National Tour), Dominick Amendum (Grammy Award-winning music director, conductor, and supervisor of Wicked international), Elizabeth Williams Taylor (Guinevere in Camelot National Tour with Richard Harris), Lindsay Kesselman (new music specialist, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble), Leda Scearce (Clinical Associate and Singing Voice Specialist at the Duke Voice Care Center), Jackie Bayne and Jason Gillman (Broadway veterans and founders of The Broadway Artists Intensive), Arlene Shrut (vocal coach, the Julliard School), Carly Jones (Senior Program Director of the North Carolina Arts Council), René Barbera (international opera singer, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Tokyo Opera), Scott Sussman (voice doctor for Disney and Broadway artists), Demir Demirkan (international Rock and Roll musician/composer), three cast members of Hamilton on Broadway, Rosemary Hyler Ritter (founder of Songfest in LA), Bruce Rand Berman (television producer and nominee of seven Emmy Awards), and Etienne Charles (award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer). I work hard to cultivate relationships in my industry and share my connections with the music department and HPU community. Over the past five years I hired several students to sing in productions with North Carolina Opera and Greensboro Opera, and I directed and led four students and one adjunct faculty in a “Promising Artists of the 21st Century” performance tour in Costa Rica, sponsored by Centro Cultural Costariccense/Norteamericano and the U.S. State Department.
The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM, the national accrediting agency for music and music-related disciplines) defines Research and Creative Work in its document The Work of Arts Faculties in Higher Education as “the combination of individual work in music and its presentation in exhibitions, performances, productions, and publications in various formats.” To this end, the bulk of my research and creative activity agenda is directed toward an active professional musical performance career as a singer, conductor, and director. The amount and quality of my professional accomplishments exceeds the standard in my rank and discipline. Since my 2018 application for promotion, I performed over 30 professional solo engagements in a variety of regional, national, and international venues. I am also frequently invited to serve as a judge or masterclass clinician for competitions and training programs. During the pandemic I worked with HPU Professor Brad Barlow to commission and develop the first opera ever conceived for a planetarium; the opera was initially workshopped by HPU students and eventually culminated in a series of professional performances at the Culp Planetarium with nationally recognized singers and production team, along with musicians and conductor from the Winston-Salem Symphony. The opera garnered national recognition from NASA and the National Science Foundation. In 2022 I received a State Department grant from the US Consulate in Marseille to perform and teach in southern France. The itinerary included work in disadvantaged schools, a masterclass for apprentices at the Nice Opera, and a performance for Prince Albert II of Monaco and invited guests. The success of this project prompted an invitation to sing a recital on the performing arts series at the Washington D.C. National Gallery of Art and a return trip to sing in Marseille for their annual Independence Day celebration. As Chorus Master for North Carolina Opera I managed all chorus preparation, hiring, and administration for 11 mainstage productions within the evaluation period (24 total since 2013). I have amassed many positive critical reviews as a performer and Chorus Master and continue to forge new relationships and repeat contracts with highly reputable performing arts organizations.
My service to the University includes membership in the following committees: the Cultural Programs Committee (chair, appointed 2019), the Study Abroad Advisory Committee (2013-2022), two faculty search committees, School of Arts and Design Tenure and Promotion Committee (2022), and the ad hoc University Awards Committee (2022 and 2023). As chair of the Cultural Programs Committee I oversaw the approval of 27 Cultural Enrichment Series grants and worked with the committee to improve attendance, redesign the website, encourage submissions that address important societal issues, and promote interdisciplinary collaborations. I also serve as Director of Vocal Activities, an area coordinator position in the music department. My responsibilities include placement and scheduling of full-time and adjunct voice instructors, students, and accompanists; creation and implementation of division policies; coordination and documentation of new student auditions; and correspondence with and recruitment of prospective students. Additionally, I often sing at the department’s and administration’s request, frequently volunteer to meet individually with prospective students, and represent the department at admissions events, open houses, and activities fairs.
2018
A major component of my 2012 hire was to increase access and quality in the musical theatre and opera curriculum. I redesigned existing courses to focus on appropriate pedagogy and produce publicly attended performances as capstone projects. One of these projects was a fully staged production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, which was the recipient of a Cultural Enrichment Grant and was performed for an audience of over 500 children from area elementary schools. Another semester celebrated the life and works of composer Charles Strouse (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie), resulting in a live collaborative performance with the composer, who I brought to HPU as a guest. In 2016 my Musical Theatre Scenes class mounted an innovative, staged production of Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World. Additionally, I served as Music Director for all Theatre and Music Department musicals since my initial adjunct appointment in 2010 (with the exception of 2015, when I provided vocal coaching). Notably, Professor Ed Simpson and I were co-nominated for a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Direction Award for Into the Woods in 2013.
As a voice instructor, I oversee annual junior and senior recitals, facilitate admittance into graduate schools, and help students gain internships and performing opportunities with professional opera companies and music festivals. My student reviews are consistently strong and I have a high rate of studio retention, including students outside of the music major. I created a new studio model that includes bi-weekly contact and encourages group participation; these adaptations were the subject of a poster presentation for the Southeast National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) conference in 2018. I taught an overload every semester since my initial hire, and each semester it is necessary for me to transfer voice students into other studios due to over-enrollment in my sections.
A substantial portion of my academic and service portfolio revolves around study abroad activities. I served on the HPU study abroad committee since 2013 and was interim chair of that committee in Spring 2017. I created study abroad courses MUS/GBS 3651-01, MUS 3550-01, and MUS 3830-01, and steered each of these courses through the appropriate committees for University approval. MUS/GBS 3651-01 included a Maymester component in which students studied Mozart's life and career in Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague. I collaborated with the Office of Study Abroad to create the itinerary and provide logistics, independent of a tour operator. I created MUS 3550-01 and MUS 3830-01 for spring semester 2015 in Prague, where I was Faculty-in-Residence. I was responsible for eight HPU students during that semester abroad and worked with the NCSU Prague Institute to create a travel itinerary that included Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Munich, Česky Krumlov, Kutná Hora, and Terezín. I also led three student performance tours in Costa Rica with the “Promising Artists of the 21st Century” program, and I spent two summers (independent of HPU) as a guest artist/lecturer in China. I was awarded an honorary faculty post at Shaoguan University (Guangdong, China) in 2017.
The bulk of my research and creative activity agenda is directed toward an active professional musical career as a singer, conductor, and director. Since my 2012 hire I have performed over 50 professional solo engagements in a variety of regional, national, and international venues, including Piedmont Opera, Greensboro Opera, North Carolina Opera, North Carolina Master Chorale, the Eastern Music Festival, Center for Contemporary Opera (New York), the Winston-Salem Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Municipal House (Obecní dům) in Prague, and the National Symphony of Costa Rica. I was appointed chorus master for North Carolina Opera in 2013 and managed all chorus preparation, hiring, and administration for thirteen individual productions. I amassed a number of positive critical reviews as a performer and chorus master and continue to forge new relationships and repeat contracts with highly reputable performing arts organizations.
My service to the University includes membership in the following committees: Cultural Programs (Chair, appointed 2018), Study Abroad Advisory (2013-present; Interim Chair Fall 2017), Year of the Arts Fall Festival Steering Committee (2014), Service Learning (2015-present), Harm Reduction Committee (Provost special appointment, 2015-2016), and Search Committee for Assistant Professor of Piano (2016). I am also Performing Arts Liaison for Culp Planetarium. Additionally, I serve as Director of Vocal Activities, an area coordinator in the music department. My responsibilities include placement and scheduling of full-time and adjunct voice instructors, students, and accompanists; creation and implementation of division policies; coordination and documentation of new student auditions; correspondence with and recruitment of prospective students; and department representation in campus meetings and events. Additionally, I sing at the department’s and administration’s request for campus events, including the President’s Leadership Council, Trustee holiday parties, masterworks performances with the HPU Community Orchestra, and the spring 2017 commencement.
Scott MacLeod, D.M.A.
Associate Professor of Music
High Point University
