As it turned out, no words could express her elation when Scott, 57, a Silver Spring, Md., elementary school music teacher, won the Grammy for best choral performance for Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. Scott worked tirelessly preparing the Maryland Boy Choir (which included 10 of her school students) to sing Latin portions of the Requiem, last year's release of a live 1995 Kennedy Center performance marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (She shared the honors with fellow choral director Joan McFarland and conductor Robert Shafer, who led the adult Washington Chorus and Orchestra in the rest of the concert.) "I was so euphoric, I didn't even hear my name," she says. "To me the Grammy was an award for 34 years of teaching."
Scott has earned it. During her remarkable career—30 years of which have been spent at University Park Elementary—she has outlasted nine principals and fostered one of the capital area's most accomplished music programs despite a modest salary and myriad budget cuts. "There are days when I want to scream," she admits. "But my unadulterated love for what I do is why I stayed." Says University of Maryland lecturer Suzanne Beicken, whose kids studied with Scott: "Betty gives so much, children want to give in return."
Such is the case with the student choir for fifth and sixth graders that Scott now directs. The choir is composed of 80 students plucked from yearly auditions, who have the opportunity to showcase their talent at high-profile venues, including the White House and pro sporting events. Of course, not every performance is Grammy caliber. Asked to sing the national anthem at a basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Utah Jazz, the kids practiced vigorously. "But just when I got the cue to begin," recalls Scott, "Karl Malone started dribbling the ball right next to one boy who couldn't take his eyes off him. Everyone else had their eyes on me, and I'm going, 'Sam! Sam! Stop looking at Karl Malone!" '
For the most part, Scott excels at getting—and keeping—her pupils' attention. Whether through her innovative teaching approach—her students composed songs using the sound effects from Super Nintendo's Mario Paints—or her charisma, she's made a lasting impression. "It's such a great experience that we want to learn more and get better," says soprano Kendal Sparks, 14. "I now want a career in musical theater, and she totally laid the-foundation for that."
Scott's own musical roots run deep. Two of her great-grandfathers taught music, and her maternal grandmother once sold a cow for $40 to buy an organ so the family could gather around it and sing hymns. Raised in Dunbar, W.Va., by father Lake, 93, a retired math teacher, and Claire, 86, a retired school secretary, Scott began taking piano lessons at age 6 and later sang in her church choir and a high school a cappella group. (Her brother Jerry, 63, is an engineer.) "I always swore I'd never become a teacher—I mean, talk about low pay," she says. "But obviously music was in my blood."
Scott went on to study music education at Alderson-Broaddus, a small liberal arts college in Philippi, W.Va. In 1966, a year after earning her degree, she married residential builder Douglas Scott, and the couple moved to Maryland, where Betty began teaching and they had a son, David, now 30 and also a builder. Divorced in 1974, she wed science teacher Jim McMullen, 57, in 1985. "Once rehearsals start after school," says Scott of her supportive spouse, "Jim knows the quality of the cuisine goes down."
Sitting in the living room of her three-bedroom California-style bungalow, Scott grins as she recalls the praise, hugs and kisses she received after her moment of glory. Not to mention one memorable call from her mother-in-law, Margaret Enos. "She said, 'Betty, you didn't wear a dress like that Jennifer Lopez, did you?' " Not to worry, Scott responded. "I'd be so lucky to have a body like that!"
Ting Yu
Joanna Blonska in Silver Spring
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- Joanna Blonska.
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