Scott Pappal is heavily involved in many areas of Blair County’s musical scene. He is an elementary instrumental music specialist for the Altoona Area School District, a position he has held since 2000. In this capacity, he works with approximately 400 children each week, in both formal classroom settings and in small groups. Scott is the director of the AASD’s All-City Concert Band.
In addition to his work within the public school system, Mr. Pappal is Principal Organist, Choral Accompanist, and coordinator of two worship and praise bands at First United Methodist Church of Hollidaysburg. He has also held organist/pianist positions at the Hollidaysburg Church of the Brethren and Logan Valley Presbyterian Church in Bellwood. From 2004 to 2009 he was employed as the keyboard accompanist for the Penn State (Altoona) “Essence of Joy” Gospel Choir, a twenty-five member ensemble specializing in the African-American spiritual and choral repertoire of the past 150 years. No stranger to popular music, Scott spent many late-night hours as keyboardist/vocalist with “The Killer Boots,” Altoona’s premier rock/pop band.
In 2008, Scott was named Co-Music Director of the Blair Concert Chorale Children’s Choir along with his wife, Jennifer Pappal. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Pappal served as accompanist for the ensemble.
Scott Pappal holds the Dr. Thomas Russo principal horn chair of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra, and for 11 years was also a member of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. He has been a featured soloist with both orchestras on several occasions, and has appeared as soloist with many area school and community bands and orchestras. Recently, Scott performed in concert with the multi-platinum ensemble “Mannheim Steamroller.”
In 2001, Scott formed “Hornitude,” a unique flexible-instrumentation ensemble designed to give young horn players a challenging and rewarding supplement to their public-school music ensembles. As an active horn specialist and advocate, Mr. Pappal has taught over 100 students privately. Former students have or are currently studying horn at Northwestern University, Peabody Conservatory, Duquesne University, Syracuse University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Penn State University, and the Tangelwood Music Festival, to name a few. Scott’s students frequently audition into the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts. To date, hornists in his studio have won scholarships totaling over one million dollars. Mr. Pappal was a featured clinician at the 2009 Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association All-State Conference, and has also presented clinics at the PMEA District level.
Mr. Pappal earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His musical mentors include Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra members William Caballero and Zachary Smith. He is married to Jennifer Pappal (a violinist and orchestra director/string teacher at Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School), and has three children: Kristen, Kara, and Kayla.
Jennifer Pappal is the Orchestra Director and String Instrument Teacher for Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School, where she also teaches general music and keyboard lab classes. in addition, Jennifer maintains a private violin/viola studio of approximately ten young musicians. In 2009, the Pennsylvania Music Educator's Association honored Jennifer by bestowing upon her the Citation of Excellence for Middle School/Junior High Level Teaching in PMEA District Six.
In 2008, Jennifer was appointed Co-Music Director of the Blair Concert Chorale Children's Choir, along with her husband Scott. An active pianist, she is a frequent substitute accompanist for many area churches including First Lutheran Church in downtown Altoona.
A first violinist with the Altoona Symphony Orchestra, Mrs. Pappal has appeared with most of the Central and Western Pennsylvania regional orchestras, including the symphonies of Johnstown, State College, Westmoreland, and Butler, as well as the Chamber Orchestra of the Alleghenies. As an active freelance violinist, she has played in pit orchestras for Altoona Community Theatre, P and J Productions, and many area school musicals. She has also performed in backing orchestras for pop artists Lee Ann Rimes, David Gates, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Jennifer, together with her husband Scott, administers encorestringsandbrass.com, which provides flexible instrumentation duos, trios, quartets, and quintets for diverse occasions.
Jennifer Pappal has bachelor’s (summa cum laude) and master’s degrees in music education from Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University. While at Duquesne, she was a violin student of Pittsburgh Opera/Ballet Orchestra concertmaster Charles Stegeman. As a young Altoona native, Jennifer pursued applied studies with longtime ASO violinist Charles Redenberger. In 1996, Jennifer sang the national anthem for the season-opening Pittsburgh Steeler football game!
