By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Southborough – Southborough native Rick Scott performs nationally and internationally with the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCG) Glee Club of New London, Conn., yet he cites their concert presented locally as a favorite. They performed Jan. 17 at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Southborough, where Scott attended while growing up in town.
“It’s definitely a special experience to be able to go home and sing for your own community,” he said. “I probably knew almost the entire crowd there.”
Scott first developed an interest in music when he learned to play the upright bass as a third-grader at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School. He continued playing the instrument while studying at P. Brent Trottier Middle School and graduating from Worcester Academy in 2012. His longtime mentor is Jamison Clark, a music teacher at Trottier. Clark attended the recent concert.
“My strongest memory was doing performances for Jamison Clark,” Scott noted. “I had him as a music teacher at both Neary and at Trottier. He has stayed in touch with me throughout my life, in and out of school.”
That weekend also included a concert at another venue of personal interest to Scott. The glee club performed Jan. 15 at Worcester Academy.
“All my teachers are still there and they were definitely surprised to see me singing,” he relayed. “None of them knew that I was going to sing – and neither did I.”
When Scott began as a freshman at USCGA, he heard that the glee club needed an upright bass player. He hadn’t considered singing.
“I’d never sung before in my life,” he acknowledged. “I told them that I’d play the bass, but they somehow let me join despite never having sung before. I had a music foundation with the bass, but singing was something completely new.”
Now a USCGA junior, this is Scott’s third year in the glee club, which consists of about 50 men and women chosen by audition. He also auditioned and was accepted into the glee club’s Coast Guard Chorale and a men’s ensemble known as the Idlers. The glee club specializes in performing patriotic music and songs of the sea.
Scott knew since a young age that he wanted to serve in the military. He believes his patriotism is rooted in his involvement with Boy Scout Troop 1.
“I was a Boy Scout growing up, and always had a commitment to the country and a longing to serve in the military,” he said. “In freshman year in high school, I learned about the Coast Guard and knew that I wanted to be in that branch because they have a humanitarian mission.”
In addition to participating in the glee club, Scott is serving his third consecutive year as class president. A government major in public policy, he appreciates the lessons learned year-round at USCGA.
“We work on our majors and academics throughout the year, and then in the summers we go out into the fleet and experience functional missions,” he explained. “Being able to put what we learned throughout the year into actual practice, we serve alongside actual Coast Guardsmen and see what we’ll do when we graduate.”
Perhaps Scott will continue singing after graduating from USCGA.
“We actually have an active group of alumni that comes back and sings with us,” he noted. “It fits in nicely with my major because we frequent Washington D.C., to sing for events and I’ve been able to meet a lot of high-ranking Coast Guard officials there that have mentored me. I definitely plan to serve a full career in the Coast Guard.”