Alumnus/Alumna
Kelley Ketcham
I will always remember “Are my shoes untied?” for learning how to bow. I am grateful for his guidance and support in preparing for my senior recital, as well as various competitions that I participated in. And I will always remember initiating him as a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, and what a great supporter he was of our fraternity. He was such a kind and loving soul; he always made it seem like it was just yesterday that I was a student, not almost 20 years later. The world has lost a real light.
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Matt Fowle
Dr. Beard was always willing to help students however he could, both in and out of the classroom. He accompanied my first departmental recital, and coached me through the entire process. We talked about how to start, how to finish, who follows who, how to lead the phrase, etc. It made my other performances much easier because of what I learned from him. When a fellow student lost a family member suddenly, he invited the members of Phi Mu Alpha and Sigma Alpha Iota to the farm and we cooked all night to have meals made for them. He will truly be missed.
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Tara Foster
The first time I ever saw Dr. Scott Beard was my freshman year as a music major. It was the scholarship concert and he performed piano. He stepped out on stage with an amazing sequin black tuxedo. I always remembered him that way and every time I saw him afterwards he gave off that same energy, a brilliant person. He will be dearly missed in the Shepherd and Shepherdstown community.
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Stephanie Stevens
Dr. Beard was one of the big reasons I decided to attend Shepherd. My original intent was to be a music education major—piano— and his joy and enthusiasm at my visit won me over immediately. He was an amazing teacher, and while I changed my major after two years, I had the honor of being able to continue working with him through Sigma Alpha Iota. One of the big reasons I attended Homecoming every year was because I knew he would be there and he was always thrilled to see me and to catch up. I was honored to have him as a teacher and the world is a little dimmer without him.
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Neena Roderick
The music department at Shepherd has always been a family. Dr. Beard made day to day life as a music major lighter and brighter. I remember his guidance and feedback during Piano Pedagogy- a place where I unexpectedly gained confidence in my teaching. He was everyone’s champion and will be incredibly missed.
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Nick Bavani
Dr. Beard was one of my biggest support systems at Shepherd. He guided me as his piano student, helped me transition teachers when he went into administration, and still supported me as an academic advisor and mentor. My favorite memory with him was doing excerpts from “Hair” the musical. Dr. Beard made piano accompanying and musical theatre so much fun, and I have modeled my own classes, as a teacher, after him.
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Liz Trimm (Carter)
I remember meeting Dr. Beard for the first time, before I joined Shepherd watching my brother Danny play. I met him, saw how welcoming he was to me and my parents and knew this was the place for me. Dr. Beard is the reason I did so many things in college. The reason I tried out for Sweeney Todd, the reason I stayed in the music department, the reason I love growing my own garden, and even the reason I graduated. He would walk into a room and instantly light it up! He was able to motivate and push us in the best way possible. With smiles, lots of laughs, some tough love, and a ton of motivation. Thank you Dr. Beard for being such a blessing to so many. You are truly loved ❤
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Nicholas Corasaniti
I am saddened and shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Dr. Scott Beard. My deepest condolences to Alan Gibson, the whole family, and the community that mourns his loss.
A fond memory: when trying to pass my Piano Proficiency Exam, I think he had to tell me about eight times to go practice the Star Spangled Banner again and come back to try again. As always with Dr. Beard, everything he did was done with grace, class, and compassion.
Another fond memory was having the privilege of performing Nessun Dorma together with him for a Wednesday 1:10 recital. It was a musical highlight of my time at Shepherd and was made possible by Dr. Beard’s unparalleled musicianship and his insightful musical coaching.
He has touched the lives of so many and I feel privileged to have studied at Shepherd while he was a professor in the music department. Rest well Dr. Beard.
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Rich Goodman
Dr. Beard lifted others through his energy, his advocacy, and his passion. He always remained accessible and energetic through his different roles, and he always put students first. As Dean, he spent many hours with me in his office offering to help a first-gen student who struggled with feeling out of place in graduate school and figuring out how to make ends meet. I know I’m one of many. You belonged when you were with him, and you never left a conversation without a smile or a sense of empowerment. He was a strong advocate, a great mentor, and a caring friend.
The passion that came through every speech, every interaction, and every time that he sat down to a piano was so moving, and it’s hard to imagine Shepherd without him. Thank you for all that you’ve done, Dr. Beard, and I hope that the rest of us can make a fraction of the impact that you have made.
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Jeffrey Martin
My fondest memories of Dr. Beard include working on his farm during the fall and Christmas seasons that came with the homemade soups to keep us warm, the genuine hellos and conversations in the hallways whenever running around the music department, and the warm greeting of return whenever I would be back in town.
Seeing names I recognize from our time at Shepherd and reading their remembrances, I remember how Dr. Beard knit our musical community together. Things just always seemed a bit brighter when he was around.
My prayers and condolences to Alan, your family, and the Shepherd Community.
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Maggie James
I first met Dr. Beard when I started working for him and Alan at their orchard. Throughout the 7 years I worked there, I had the pleasure of getting to know both men and their pups. I loved listening to Dr. Beard’s lovely piano music wafting out of the house.
Scott was such a warm and caring person, and will be greatly missed.
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Suzanne Tabb
I am so saddened to hear of Scott’s sudden passing. First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to Alan, to Scott’s entire family, and to all who were blessed to have shared in his life, a life lived to the utmost with grace, courage, and unbounded energy.
I was a student of Dr. Guy Frank and Mary Kathleen Ernst, and a Shepherd graduate with a degree in Piano Performance. I had been teaching for a number of years and was already a member of National Guild of Piano Teachers. I joined Music Teachers National Association and Eastern Panhandle Music Teachers Association early in 2002, shortly after the local chapter was established, so that my students would have the opportunity of year-round performance experience. That is how I first met Dr. Beard. I was blown away by the beauty of the tone he achieved in his playing, and his students possessed that same incredible tone as well. I was later fortunate enough to be able to study with him for awhile, and can attest to his formidable teaching skills as well!
Music Teachers National Association eventually asked me to serve as West Virginia’s Arts Awareness and Advocacy Officer, a position I held for several years, which afforded me the opportunity to get to know him on an even better basis, as two or three times per year there were MTNA meetings in various parts of West Virginia. Scott, Gary Mullenax, and I would travel together to those meetings. I remember very early mornings, lots of laughter, and great conversation. Although Scott was one of the most multi-talented individuals I’ve ever met, and brilliantly intelligent, he also possessed great humility, with a “down-to-earth” attitude that allowed him to connect with anyone he met.
Although I’d moved out of the area and hadn’t seen him for a few years, I’d been able to visit the Shepherd website occasionally and read about his current work there. We will all miss him, but we are all better people for having known him, and his legacy will live on within our hearts. Thank you, Scott, for blessing all of our lives with yours. Rest In Peace.
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Greg Small
Dr. Beard was an early supporter when I started getting more serious about piano in the early 2000s. He noticed that I was practicing piano maybe more than a trumpet major should, poked his head in my practice room one day, and let me know the worst kept secret in the music department, that he left his office door unlocked at night for his students to practice on either of his two impeccably maintained grand pianos. Even though I never formally studied with him, I would always pick his brain about the instrument, and he was always happy to talk shop.
I was thrilled when he agreed to accompany me on my senior recital, because I knew just how much I could learn. Rehearsals with him were a whirlwind of musical ideas my young mind had not yet considered.
I remember on a department trip to London and Paris our flight got canceled at the last minute, and he helped coordinate the wild logistics of rerouting close to 100 people to the final destination in multiple flights. No small task. We all got there.
Even though I know of no photos of the two of us, or even in a group, all these things really did happen in that pre-social media, more normal time. I probably haven’t talked to him in close to 20 years, but that season of my life feels like it was yesterday.
Rest in peace to one of the greats.
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Shonelle Strausbaugh
Most of us can probably look back and say that somewhere along our journey in life, there has been a teacher who has made a lasting impact on our lives and has helped shape us into the person we are today. Dr. Scott Beard was one such teacher for me. He was my college piano teacher, professor, accompanist, mentor, advisor, listening ear and shoulder to cry on (while I used up all his tissues! 😃), My coach, my cheerleader, my fashion consultant, hand lotion supplier and both one of my biggest critics (in a good way) and biggest fans. He played for most of my vocal performances in college. He came to my graduation, our wedding and held two of my children as babies. He played a huge role in shaping me into the kind of teacher and person I am today. He always inspired me to do my best, yet also when to not take myself too seriously. We always laughed alot together! He always knew when I needed some words of encouragement or extra practice time. When I completely blanked on a graded performance of the Rachmaninoff piano piece I had been working so hard on all semester, he met me at the door as I left the room fighting back tears. He knew. No words necessary. He simply opened his arms and let me have a big sloppy cry all over his nice shirt!
I will forever be grateful to this beautiful person for the immeasurable influence he has had on me as a person, a teacher and a musician. May his music and the passion and compassion with which he taught live on thru his students, and may we continue to pass it along to our students for years to come. Your influence on this world is immeasurable Dr. Beard! I love you!
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Mike Pettry
Dr. Beard was my college piano teacher, advisor, and mentor from 1999 to 2004. He took a chance on me when I auditioned for the Shepherd College music department in 1999 with two Chopin nocturnes and a Ben Folds Five song (not really the most diverse piano portfolio), and his faith in me shaped the direction of my life forever.
Although I paused playing classical piano to focus on other aspects of my musical career, after 20 years I still hear his voice in my head as I practice to play in Broadway pits, or write music that features the piano — trying to do work that he’d be proud of. Even an hour before I learned of his passing, I was randomly thinking about him and his office at Shepherd as I programmed drum parts for a TV project. That night I gave my niece a piano lesson over FaceTime and struggled to keep it together as I pass the things I learned from him on to her.
My love and sympathy go out to Alan and all the students whose lives were touched by Scott. He will be missed incredibly by us all, but the mark he made on our lives isn’t going anywhere. ♥