Conductor, arranger, and trumpet player, Dr. Dereck Scott has become the new director of music of The City of Fairfax Band Association. He assumed the position July 1 and conducts his first full concert of the City of Fairfax Band on Oct. 26, when the nationally acclaimed community ensemble launches its 2024-2025 season.

Scott is an established Washington area musical force. The multi-talented musician conducts the Cathedral Brass and was the McLean Symphony’s interim music director. He also has conducted the Rockville Brass Band and the Cherry Blossom Brass Band. As director of bands at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Va., Scott leads five bands covering grades five through 12. His leadership from the podium has been described as transformative, “of the highest of artistic merit,” and “significantly contributing to the ensemble’s success.”

On trumpet, Scott performs frequently around greater Washington. That includes having been principal cornet and soloist for the Rockville Brass Band. And he is a featured performer on The Brass of the Potomac’s album “Firestorm.”

Scott is also an accomplished arranger and composer, with more than 70 titles to his name. His work has been performed across the United States and internationally.

He said he didn’t hesitate to compete for the music directorship. “The City of Fairfax Band is the group I kept on hearing about. This is a group I wanted to be a part of,” he said. “I am extremely excited. I really do believe in community musicianship. It’s a real thermometer of the cultural health of a community.”

“The big thing is the group plays well. It’s a good group; it’s a very good group,” Scott added. “I’m confident that they will be able to play anything I put in front of them.”

Oct. 26 Concert Program

The ensemble will demonstrate its musical capabilities in concert at Fairfax High School on Oct. 26. Scott will open with exciting audience favorites from the Broadway hit “Wicked” and John Williams’ themes from Steven Spielberg’s beloved movie “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

Jazz lovers will savor the great standard, “Autumn in New York,” by Vernon Duke. John Phillip Sousa march fans will enjoy “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.”

The concert’s major work will be Robert W. Smith’s 1st Symphony titled “The Divine Comedy.”  A major four-movement symphonic band composition, it is based on Dante Alighieri’s same-named classic narrative poem envisioning a soul’s travels through the afterlife.

Scott’s Other Concert Dates

Leading The City of Fairfax Band

The City of Fairfax Band’s next appearance, which Scott will co-conduct, is the annual outdoor Children’s Concert on Thursday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Note: free ice cream starts at 7 p.m. Location: Veterans Amphitheater adjacent Fairfax City Hall at 10485 Armstrong Street. (Inclement weather location: indoors at the Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd.)

In addition to its Oct. 26 indoor season opener, later City of Fairfax Band performances are set for Dec. 21 and March 15. An additional concert is to be scheduled for late April or early May. (Updates at www.fairfaxband.org)