I know you’ve heard that expression before!

If you look it up in a dictionary (on the internet, of course!) it’s a term which expresses surprise or amazement: “Great Scott!” is an interjection of surprise, amazement, or dismay. It is a distinctive but inoffensive exclamation, popular in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, and now considered dated. It is frequently assumed that Great Scott! is a minced oath of some sort, Scott replacing God. The 2010 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English labels the expression as “dated” and simply identifies it as an “arbitrary euphemism for ‘Great God!'”. (Wikipedia).

You probably also remember the phrase from the movie “Back to the Future” — it was one of the favorite phrases of Emmet “Doc” Brown. Over time, “Great Scott!” became a minced oath, which is basically an expletive that’s been softened to be less objectionable, such as “gosh darn” instead of “god damn” or “heck” for “hell.” Another common exclamation of the time was “Great God!,” which some found offensive, leading to the switch of God to Scott. The expression, “Great Scott” has been used in the trilogy a total of 15 times. In Part I, 1955 Doc says it on three occasions. In Part II, 1985 Doc says it on five occasions, while 1955 Doc says it once. In Part III, 1955 Doc says it on three occasions, while 1985 Doc (now in 1885) says it on two occasions. Finally, Marty McFly uses the expression, in a humorous reversal of roles.

On Saturday afternoon, though, the phrase was used to describe Scott Fikse‘s masterful leadership and direction of the Early Music Hawaii concert, “The Golden Age of Spanish Culture.” The stellar cast included:

Singers: Andrea Maciel, Erica Glenn, Aubrey Aikens, Melissa Glenn, Sarah Connelly, Andy Degan, Mark Primeaux-Redmond, Justin Hong, Buz Tennent, Keane Ishii, David Webb

Players: Katherine Crosier, organ; Richard Savino, vihuela/guitar; Jamey Morgan, tenor trombone; Gabe Cruz, alto trombone; Anna Callner Pare, viola da gamba

We had a full house for Early Music Hawaii — the largest audience since the pandemic!

Before the concert, Scott wrote these encouraging words in a private chat with the performers: Hey all, I think we had an encouraging rehearsal last night. It feels like everyone showed up musically and mentally for each other; there was a lot of positivity and focus in the room. Tonight is going to be fab! Vocal warm up is at 6pm. Instrumentalists are called at 6:30pm. Take care of your voices today. Hydration 💦 and healthy speaking 🗣 Pre-sale tickets are close to setting an EMH record!

And then the Scott lovefest began!

So exciting! Thanks for your leadership, Scott. It’s so great to be with everyone.

This is such a wonderful group of humans, and it’s so great to have you back on the island, Scott. Thanks for letting me sing with you!

You’re a treasure Scott and a joy to work with, as is this terrific EMH ensemble! Hope you’ll come to back Hawaii more often! . 🎶 Let’s kick it tonight!

I think we’re all Scott fans.

(This is what I wrote) Scott, I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated your being here for this concert. I have really appreciated your musicianship, your leadership and your rehearsal skills in pulling this concert together in such a short time. No wasted moments! You’re the best director I’ve worked with since my husband Carl and I thank you sincerely.

Great Scott!

The trust relationship between singers and instrumentalists is critical in how the ensemble performs and sounds like. It was obvious to me that the singers and instrumentalists trusted Scott and he trusted us. Although there were some minor errors, in general, what came off was a genuine joy — joy in the music, and joy in performing together.

In the week before the concert, Scott posted bios on Facebook of some of the newest members of Early Music Hawaii. In case you don’t have Facebook, here’s what he wrote:

Dr. Jamey Morgan is a trombonist with the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band in Pearl Harbor, HI. Before joining the Navy in 2022 and relocating to Hawaii, he was the acting second trombonist of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra in Saginaw, MI and performed extensively with orchestras around mid-Michigan, including the Midland, Alma, Holland, Lansing, and Grand Rapids Symphonies. As a soloist, Dr. Morgan was a finalist of the U.S. Army Band’s American Trombone Workshop Solo Competition in 2022, as well as a finalist and co-winner of the ITA Frank Smith Tenor Trombone Competition and ITA Alto Trombone Competition in 2020. (He also told me his father is a choral conductor—I imagine he did a lot of singing growing up.)

You’ll enjoy the fabulous soprano voice of Aubrey Aikens at this evening’s concert. Aubrey is a Chicago native and has a degree in vocal performance from Northwestern University, where she studied with Sunny Joy Langton. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Opera Voice with Dr. Maya Sypert at the University of Hawaii, Mānoa. In addition to performing on the mainland and across O‘ahu, Aubrey has spent the last eight years sharing her love of singing through her popular online voice studio, leading masterclasses, and developing stage presence workshops.

Bob and Yoko Kessner loved the Early Music Hawaii concert!