Scott Holden

Scott Holden maintains a diverse career where he is sought after as a soloist, collaborator, teacher, adjudicator and clinician. He has performed in over forty US states, and throughout Europe and in Asia. He has performed in Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Moscow’s Svetlanov Hall. His 1996 debut recital in Carnegie Hallwas a result of winning first prize in the Leschetizky New York Debut Competition. It garnered critical praise for his “effortless technique and beautiful tone” and his “ability to transform notes on a page into a distinctly personal statement.” (New York Concert Review) Holden returned to Carnegie Hall to play another solo recital in 2018, featuring multiple world premieres. His performances have gathered critical praise. “Few are the live performances which bring out, build, and shape this work as artistically as in this live performance....Mr. Holden sizzled the audience.” (The Detroit Monitor) “Scott Holden displayed his delicate touch and deep feeling.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune.)

He has been broadcast on NPR, NBC, CBC, as well as numerous local networks. His enthusiastic support of contemporary music has led to a variety of premieres, including William Wallace’s Second Piano Concerto with Keith Lockhart and the Utah Symphony of which The Salt Lake Tribune wrote, “Mr. Holden secured the stage in a virtuosic performance…We were torn between examining every new note passing by our ears, and Holden’s pianistic acrobatics.  It was a wonderful dilemma.”   Recent concerts have brought him across the country ranging from Alaska to New York, as well as in China, Singapore, Vietnam, and in Europe. Recent and upcoming concerto appearances include those by Grieg, Beethoven, Gershwin, and Tchaikovsky. He is a member of the American Piano Quartet with whom he has made many international tours.

He has recorded solo and chamber music for Tantara, NAXOS, Bridge, and Parma record labels. His 2018 album “the Unknown Galaxy” was given high praise by Fanfare Magazine: “he brings it off with excellence, mastering everything…. It’s safe to say that there is no other piano disc quite like this one.” His CD, Beyond Vernon Duke, featured multiple world premiere recordings and was given the highest five-star rating stating: “Holden exhibits profoundly musical readings with obvious commitment and great attention to detail.” 

Teaching is a passionate commitment for Dr. Holden. He been piano professor at Brigham Young University since 2002, where he was director of the piano area for 14 years. In the summers he has taught at various festivals including Juilliard’s program for pre-college aged students, “Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard”, where has taught annually since 2017. Holden’s students have been top prizewinners in numerous national competitions including the Gina Bachauer, Atlanta’s Emory Young Artists, the PianoArtsNorth American Competition, and many others. His students were top prize winners at the Music Teacher’s National Association National (MTNA) competitions in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 in multiple divisions. He has had over 30 students from his studio perform as soloists in concerti with the orchestras at Brigham Young University as winners of its annual concerto competitions. His students are regularly accepted to the leading graduate and undergraduate programs in the country including Juilliard, Eastman, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody, Cleveland Institute, Yale, Boston University, Northwestern, Indiana University, University of Michigan, San Francisco Conservatory, USC and many others. He travels extensively to adjudicate and give master classes at festivals, universities and pedagogy workshops. Some of Dr. Holden’s former students now hold university piano faculty positions around the country.

Holden holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BM), The Juilliard School (MM), and The Manhattan School of Music (DMA). He studied for a year at The Liszt Academy in Budapest as a Fulbright Scholar. His former teachers include Arthur Greene, Nina Lelchuk, Martin Canin, Arkady Aronov, Ferenc Rados and András Kemenes. He is the father of four children, and married his wife Sarah in 1998. He is a passionate explorer of Utah’s red rock deserts and enjoys cooking and tending to his apple orchard at his home in the mountains of Utah.