On Tuesday night in the Reynolds building, the melodies of Frederic Chopin’s “Minute Waltz in D-flat” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” among other pieces, were performed in a concert titled “Men, Women and Pianos” played by Dr. Scott Carrell.
Carrell has been a faculty member at Harding University for more than 10 years and said he has been playing the piano from a young age.
A native of Texas, Carrell said he has performed numerous recitals as a soloist and as a collaborator, including concerto appearances with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, the Southwestern University Orchestra, the Plainview Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra and the Little Rock Wind Symphony. An active chamber musician, he co-founded the Searcy Chamber Music Series and has performed in many of its concerts.
Carrell received his bachelors degree from Southwestern University, his masters from Southwestern University and his D.M.A. from the University of North Texas. Carrell said he has studied with many internationally-known artists including Drusilla Huffmaster and Ian Hobson.
In 1996, he was awarded a prize for best performance of a work by Henri Dutilleux at the FPI Festival in Paris, France. Carrell also received the Distinguished Teacher Award from Harding for the 2003-04 school year.
Carrell has released two albums. “Crossing” (2005) included works by Chopin and Claude Debussy as well as his own original works. The second album, “Ragtime Memories” was released in 2007 and included pieces in various ragtime styles.
Carrell is an active member of the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association and is also affiliated with Delta Omicron and Pi Kappa Lambda.
Carrell said he has always had a love for piano because of the capability for variety and style.
“I, as a player, can have complete control over all those things, that I can tweak it, I can finesse in ways that I think help and work,” Carrell said. “Piano is an instrument that is able to produce a variety of sounds, not in timbre as such, but in quality of sound, how things are balanced and how things are voiced.”
Carrell has a great love for his instrument and his love stems from the payoff of endless hours of work.
“By playing the piano I’ve had the luxury, the pleasure, the blessing, if you will, in working with a lot of different people and a lot of different instruments and voices,” Carrell said. “That makes for a very rich experience as well, being able to encounter their repertoires, being able to participate in them in small ensembles, chamber music, and other things. That has been a really neat thing to do that in addition to playing our own literature.”
Recordings, reviews and information about upcoming performances can be found at Carrell’s website, www.scottcarrell.com.
