March 7, 2019

After teaching piano at Northern Arizona University for 43 years, Frank Scott is retiring. To celebrate, there will be a retirement recital at noon March 9, in the Kitt Recital Hall.

According to Scott, the thing he will miss most is working with students. While he has several favorite memories from his time at NAU, one in particular stands out.

“I remember this student named Hau Ping Ping,” said Scott. “She and another girl were performing on the stage in Ardrey when the sheet music flew off the music rest. Panicked, her page-turner scrambled to pick up the music off the floor. But Ping Ping remained calm and kept playing without the music, wowing the audience and garnering the loudest applause. This is a testament to the kind of musician she was and still is.”

In addition to teaching Ping Ping and a handful of others from Malaysia, Scott has worked with students from Spain, Germany, China, Taiwan and across the United States.

Scott’s retirement recital will feature works for piano by Bernstein and Suk followed by the Smetana Piano Trio—consisting of Scott, his wife Louise on the violin and their son Jared on the cello.

After the recital there will be a reception in the Kitt Hall Atrium. The event is free and open to the public—no tickets are needed.