Vivian Scott

{{Infobox person

| name = Vivian Scott

| image = Vivian_Scott,_1946.jpg

| alt = Portrait of a young African-American woman wearing a ruffled scoop-necked blouse and her hair in a 1940s style.

| caption = Scott at her 1946 graduation

| birth_name = Vivian Eileen Scott

| birth_date = {{Birth year|1926}}

| birth_place = Pontiac, Michigan, US

| death_date = {{Death year and age|2010|1926}}

| death_place = Southfield, Michigan, US

| other_names = Vivian Scott Ramsey

| occupation = pianist, music educator

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| children = 2

}}

Vivian Eileen Scott (1926–2010) was an American classical pianist and music educator. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Howard University and a master's degree from Juilliard, she performed with distinction internationally throughout the 1950s. She was also involved in the desegregation of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

Biography

Vivian Eileen Scott was born in 1926 in Pontiac, Michigan.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}}{{sfn|US Census|1930|p=4A}} She grew up in a home which included her mother, Mary Belle (née Riddick) Scott, sister Phyllis, her grandmother Bertha Riddick, her uncle Cedric Riddick and his family, and in her early years, her aunt Hortense Riddick.{{sfn|US Census|1930|p=4A}}{{sfn|US Census|1940|p=3B}} Scott gave her first piano recital at age 12. She completed high school in 1943 and went on to pursue music studies at Howard University. Graduating magna cum laude in 1946, Scott went on to continue her studies at Juilliard and completed her master's degree in 1949.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}}{{sfn|Wilkins|1946|p=238}}{{sfn|The Age|1957|p=12}}

Scott married Andrew Ramsey around the time of her graduation and had two children, Rheva and Drew.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}}{{sfn|The Berkeley Daily Gazette|1950|p=5}} In 1951, she appeared in two episodes of the Skitch Henderson Show and that year opened Howard University's season of concerts.{{sfn|The Age|1951|p=5}} In 1953, Scott was awarded the John Hay Whitney Fellowship and continued post-graduate studies in Paris.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}}{{sfn|The Age|1953|p=13}} She returned to the United States the following year and performed at a benefit concert for the Harlem Mission Project. Her performance, described in the Paterson, New Jersey, Morning Call included Chopin's "Etude" Opus 24 No. 10 and "Polonaise", and Howard Swanson's "Sonata".{{sfn|The Morning Call|1954|p=27}}

In 1955, Scott was granted a concert appearance by the philanthropic organization Jugg, Inc., which financed debut recitals for young, trained musicians.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}} Her debut occurred at The Town Hall in New York City on March 20. She played works from Bach, Busoni, Chopin, Schumann, and Swanson in a two-hour event.{{sfn|The Daily News|1955|p=497}}{{sfn|The Pittsburgh Courier|1955|p=15}} In 1956, she became a faculty member of Howard University{{sfn|The Montgomery Advertiser|1956|p=15}} and moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. When she tried to enroll her daughter Rheva in her Michigan Park neighborhood Girl Scout troop, Scott was told there were no openings. She waited until the fall and tried again, but was told that the troop had decided that they would be a "white only" group. Scott wrote to the national headquarters to enlist their help in desegregating the Girl Scout Movement in Washington, D. C.{{sfn|Carey|2017|p=53}}

At the end of 1956, Scott appeared in Atlanta, playing selections of music by Albéniz, Czerny, Debussy, Mompou, Prokofiev, and Ravel, as well as Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Chopin's Études, and Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze, leaving the audience "spellbound" by her "technical excellence".{{sfn|The Montgomery Advertiser|1956|p=15}} In 1957, she held a second performance at The Town Hall, containing much of the same repertoire as she had in Atlanta. The New York Times critic said of the Czerny Toccata Op. 92, "the brilliance of her playing and bravura spirit won shouts of approval" from the audience.{{sfn|The New York Times|1957|p=26}} She continued to play throughout the United States and Canada, into the early 1960s.{{sfn|The Windsor Star|1956|p=21}}{{sfn|The Detroit Free Press|1960|p=10}}{{sfn|Jones|1961|p=2}} Scott is remembered as one of the few black women who have played classical music on the piano internationally with distinction.{{sfn|Mitchell|2000|p=89}}

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite journal |last1=Carey |first1=Miya |title=Becoming "a Force for Desegregation": The Girl Scouts and Civil Rights in the Nation's Capital |journal=Washington History |date=Fall 2017 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=52–60 |publisher=Historical Society of Washington, D.C. |location=Washington, D.C. |jstor=90015025 |issn=1042-9719}}
{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=John |title=Scott Displays Flawless Technique |newspaper=The Hilltop |date=December 8, 1961 |volume=44 |issue=9 |page=2 |url=https://dh.howard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=hilltop_196070 |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |location=Washington, D. C.}}
{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Mark |title=Virtuosi: A Defense and a (Sometimes Erotic) Celebration of Great Pianists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSSwDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |date=2000 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-02854-9}}
{{cite journal |editor-last=Wilkins |editor-first=Roy |title=The American Negro in College 1945-1946 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z1oEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA238 |journal=The Crisis |volume=53 |issue=8 |pages=237–248 |date=August 1946 |publisher=The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. |location=New York, New York |issn=0011-1422}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|US Census|1930}} |author= |title=1930 U. S. Census, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRH6-7PQ?i=6&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXQ1P-D1L |website=FamilySearch |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=4A |date=April 4, 1930 |id=NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1018, lines 37–44}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|US Census|1940}} |author= |title=1940 U. S. Census, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-VC8T?i=5&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK4P3-P3Z |website=FamilySearch |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=3B |date=April 1940 |id=NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 1801, lines 44–50}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Daily News|1955}} |author= |title=Her Town Hall Recital Fulfills Lifelong Dream |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54836729/daily-news/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=February 20, 1955 |newspaper=The Daily News |location=New York, New York |page=497 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Morning Call|1954}} |author= |title=New York Choirs to Give Concert to Aid Mission |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54894129/the-morning-call/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=April 8, 1954 |newspaper=The Morning Call |location=Paterson, New Jersey |page=27 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Pittsburgh Courier|1955}} |author= |title=N. Y. town Hall Concert Set for Vivian Scott |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54894226/the-pittsburgh-courier/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=March 5, 1955 |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Courier |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Age|1953}} |author= |title=Off to Paris |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54893804/off-to-paris-may-9-1953-new-york/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=May 9, 1953 |newspaper=The Age |location=New York, New York |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Windsor Star|1956}} |author= |title=Pianist Scott Guest Soloist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41191247/windsor-daily-star-tuesday-march-16/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=March 13, 1956 |newspaper=The Windsor Star |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=21 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Age|1951}} |author= |title=Pianist, Tenor in Recital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28652813/miss-vivian-scott-pianist-in-recital/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=November 24, 1951 |newspaper=The Age |location=New York, New York |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Montgomery Advertiser|1956}} |author= |title=Piano Concert Well Received |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54896897/the-montgomery-advertiser/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=December 12, 1956 |newspaper=The Montgomery Advertiser |location=Montgomery, Alabama |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Age|1957}} |author= |title=Second Town Hall Recital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54892437/second-town-hall-recital-october-5/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=October 5, 1957 |newspaper=The Age |location=New York, New York |page=12 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Berkeley Daily Gazette|1950}} |author= |title=Sorority Convention Hears Address by Admiral Nimitz |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-aug-16-1950-1847914/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=August 16, 1950 |newspaper=The Berkeley Daily Gazette |location=Berkeley, California |page=5 |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Detroit Free Press|1960}} |author= |title=Vivian Scott |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54902594/vivian-scott-20-july-1960-detroit/ |accessdate=July 7, 2020 |date=July 20, 1960 |newspaper=The Detroit Free Press |location=Detroit, Michigan |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times|1957}} |author= |title=Vivian Scott in Recital: Pianist Confirms Promise of Debut |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/09/30/archives/vivian-scott-in-recital-pianist-confirms-promise-of-debut-two-years.html |location=New York City |date=September 30, 1957 |page=26}}{{subscription required|via=The New York Times}}