Scott MacIntyre

Scott MacIntyre, a 22-year-old musician from Scottsdale, Arizona, was chosen as one of American Idol’s top 36 contestants for the 2009 season following his rendition of Billy Joel's “And So It Goes.” Scott, along with his brother and sister, were homeschooled from kindergarten through high school. Scott is legally blind, having been born with a condition called Leber's congenital amaurosis. Scott was also diagnosed with kidney disease in 2005, and had to undergo a kidney transplant. While Scott's story has touched many "American Idol" viewers, his talent has been just as inspirational. A brief look at Scott’s background will show that this contestant is not the typical “Hollywood wannabe.” To describe him as being incredibly gifted and talented is almost an understatement!

Scott began playing piano by ear at age 3. He began classical piano training in the Suzuki method at age 5. Since then, Scott has written and performed in genres spanning pop, rock, punk, jazz, and classical. He received many local and national awards for piano, composition, and vocal performance. Yes, in addition to his other musical talents, he is also gifted with a beautiful voice! Scott has performed as guest soloist with symphony orchestras, as well as playing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has independently released six full-length CDs.

At age 14 Scott started studying piano performance at Arizona State University. The following year he debuted with the Phoenix Symphony as a guest soloist. After graduating summa cum laude from ASU at age 19 with a BM in Piano Performance, he was nominated “Outstanding Graduate” by the College of Fine Arts. A Marshall Scholar and Fulbright Scholar, Scott has studied in London where he obtained his masters degree in Performance from the Royal College of Music and Royal Holloway University. He was accepted to both Oxford and Cambridge for further graduate-level studies. Scott also studied on scholarship at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Universitat Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Besides his academic achievements, Scott has a variety of notable extracurricular experiences under his belt. Scott was a special guest on Robert Schuller’s "Hour of Power" show at the Crystal Cathedral in California. He was welcomed to the White House by First Lady Laura Bush. He frequently donates performances for conventions, churches, charities, and athletic events (Phoenix Suns and Diamondbacks), and enjoys bringing his music to all types of audiences.

As if that’s not enough, Scott travels around the country as one of the MacIntyre Family Singers along with his mom Carole, brother Todd (19), and sister Katelyn (16). They perform beautiful four-part harmonies in styles ranging from acappella jazz and classical, to Southern gospel and Christian pop, as well as Broadway show tunes. "It kind of started as (a side project), but we do more and more shows as a family," Scott says. Dad accompanies them but he doesn’t sing.

Scott’s other interests include performing in community theatre and musicals, hiking and skiing with a sighted guide, computer programming, and law. He has participated in the YMCA "Youth in Government" program in elected positions as President of the Senate, Senate Majority Leader, and was honored to receive the "Outstanding First Year Senator" award at the Arizona State Capitol for excellence in debate. Scott is a remarkable guy who has already accomplished more great things in his youth while visually impaired than most fully sighted people do in their whole lives!

Scott gives homeschooling much of the credit for his success. The flexibility of homeschooling allowed him to practice for hours at the piano each day. He was able to progress at his own pace and fine tune his God-given abilities, while learning to work hard and with persistence to overcome his disability. As for Scott’s personality, he is likeable, charismatic, and not at all arrogant. The fact that he comes from a nice Christian family is a plus. Although I don’t personally approve of “Idol worship,” I think the media could really use this talented young man, his message and his disability to promote what a worthy role model looks like.

Having been hopeful that Scott would win, it was sad to see him depart the show several weeks too early. Nevertheless, Scott said that he felt blessed to have had the opportunity. He immediately started doing press interviews and media appearances for Access Hollywood, Idol Extra, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, E!, TV Guide, CNN, CTV, Fox affiliates across the nation, Good Day LA, Entertainment Weekly, LA Times, People, US Weekly, Newsweek, Idol Tonight, the Today Show, Regis and Kelly, etc.

Visit Scott’s web site at www.scottmacintyre.com and his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/scottmacintyre for the latest news and photos. You can also join Scott’s mailing list and send him fan mail. Scott’s iTunes recordings from American Idol can be found at www.americanidol.com/itunes. Scott plans to continue writing and recording music, and he will be releasing a brand new CD immediately following the American Idol summer tour. He released his own CD last year called “Somewhere Else” which includes 12 original tracks and is over 52 minutes in length. You can hear a track from the CD below:

For a “Somewhere Else” CD – send $15 per CD + $3 shipping & handling (check or money order) to Scott MacIntyre, P.O. Box 26803, Scottsdale, AZ 85255. (You can send fan mail to that address, too.)

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