SOP Podcast #59 - Scott Elsholz on Developing Lives Through Music Ministry

​Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #59!

Today's guest is Dr. Scott Elsholz who currently serves as Music Director/Organist at the Catholic Church in Bartlett, TN, where he leads a vibrant music ministry of five vocal and instrumental ensembles.
Previously, he served as Canon Organist/Choirmaster at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, where he led a comprehensive cathedral music program, was responsible for developing larger diocesan-wide music and liturgy initiatives, and served as artistic

director for the Music at St Mary’s concert series.

In 2013, Scott was awarded Doctor of Music degree summa cum laude in Organ Performance/Literature at Indiana University, where he studied with Drs. Marilyn Keiser and Larry Smith. He also served the Jacobs School of Music as an Associate Instructor, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Church Music, Piano, and Music Theory.

Scott received his B.M. and M.A. degrees in organ performance from Eastern Michigan University, where he studied organ and improvisation with Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. As a student at Eastern Michigan, Scott received many awards and honors, including first prize in the prestigious Graduate Music Competition. He served the music department as a university fellow and as a graduate assistant in music theory and was later named Adjunct Professor of Organ following Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra’s retirement.

Scott has concertized extensively and has performed in numerous masterclasses and organ/improvisation seminars. He was named an official competitor in the 2006 American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. In 2001, he was selected as a participant in the Smarano Organ and Clavichord Symposium held in Smarano, Italy.
Scott lives in Memphis with his 5-year-old daughter Clarabella. As a family, they enjoy cooking together, playing tea party, and pretending to be superheroes.

In this conversation Scott talks about his experiences in his master's and doctoral studies, his research on Johann Heinrich Buttstett's organ works, and developing lives through music ministry.

Relevant links:
​Church of Nativity in Bartlett
Scott's dissertation: Opening a forgotten cabinet: Johann Heinrich Buttstett's Musicalische Clavier-Kunst und Vorraths-Kammer (1713)
​Scott on Facebook and YouTube
Scott's email address