A middle class family in Whittier, California.  High school four-sport letterman and Student Body President.  West Point Cadet.  Army Platoon Leader during Operation Desert Storm, a law degree from Carolina, an entrepreneur, sports lover, golfer and restaurant/bar owner.  A physical and driven man.  Not our preconception of the typical performing arts aficionado.

At 41, Chapel Hill’s Scott Maitland is the youngest member of the Carolina Performing Arts Society National Advisory Board.  He has been involved with Memorial Hall since 2000 and the Carolina Performing Arts since its creation in 2005.  Why would a young, athletic, sports enthusiast-brewer be interested in the arts?  Surprisingly, there are many reasons.

Scott first became involved with Memorial Hall because he is a firm believer that there is no line between town and gown.  It is clear to him that a vital, eclectic and high profile performing arts program a five-minute walk from Franklin Street can play a powerful role in the town’s economic development.  He is committed to downtown Chapel Hill, and his imagination was captured several years ago with Chancellor Moeser’s vision for an Arts Common. 

With the successful renovation of Memorial Hall and the visible construction of the new music building which will eventually house a splendid recital hall, Scott sees that vision beginning to take concrete shape and he couldn’t be happier.  As he says, he thinks it’s vitally important “to add culture to the Chapel Hill brand.”

Through his involvement with and support of the Memorial Hall Transformation Campaign, Scott led the charge for Restaurant Row and asked other Chapel Hill restaurateurs to join him in naming seats.  You can see the results of his efforts in Row R in the renovated Memorial Hall, which proudly boasts the names of nine area restaurants. 

Scott made a powerful contribution to the renovation campaign and may have thought he could move on to champion other causes, but the hiring of Emil Kang as the University’s first Executive Director for the Arts and the creation of Carolina Performing Arts led to the need for a new National Advisory Board.  When the Chancellor asked that Scott help the arts again, he didn’t hesitate to lend a hand again.

In January of 2006, the Board traveled to New York for its winter meeting which provided opportunities to engage with CEOs of leading arts organizations including Juilliard, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Mark Morris Dance Group, Alvin Ailey and Jazz at Lincoln Center. “I was so impressed by the reverence with which everyone we met held us,” he recalls.  “At first I thought they were just being nice but that wasn’t true.  They respect what we’re doing here.  I know what we do is really great, but to hear it from the New York arts leaders as well as Tony Bennett and Bonnie Raitt from the Memorial Hall stage, that makes it real.”

Scott did not grow up in a family where the arts were a priority.  He didn’t play an instrument, for example, but through his involvement with CPA he has broadened his exposure to a wide variety of artistic experiences.  His curiosity led him to become a full season subscriber.  He says he feels comfortable that, at Memorial Hall, he is surrounded by others just like him who don’t necessarily know what to expect. 

“The arts here are equal opportunity, not just for the wealthy,” he adds.  “They exist in the context of education.  When I go to Memorial Hall, I either love it or say to myself ‘Why did they choose this?’  I become curious.  ‘Why is this considered good?’  That’s part of the education.”

“What’s so great about Memorial Hall and, in fact, Chapel Hill is that you can be a freshman every day,” he adds.