West Texas A&M University

• State: Texas
• State School (public)
• School Website
• Map Link

Nick Scales, bass faculty

• Email Nick
• Nick’s Website

General Statistics

• US News Ranking: #81 Regional Universities West
• US News Overall Score (out of 100): 31
• In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $7,557
• Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $9,418
• Room & Board 2016-17: $7,196
• Total Enrollment: 9,901
• Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 60%
• Student – Faculty Ratio: 20:1
• 4 year graduation rate: 28%
• % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 60%
• Average Financial Aid: $5,585

Double Bass Statistics

• Average number of undergraduate bass students: 8
• Average number of graduate bass students: 0-1
• Studio Class, Bass Ensembles, individual topics in solo and orchestral repertoire and pedagogy.

What Alumni Are Doing

• Several graduates are successful public school teachers who also maintain freelance performing and teaching careers. Music education is our most popular degree program school-wide. A music business major at WT now works for Madeleine Crouch and Co. which manages the International Society of Bassists

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

Q: What are some of your favorite experiences teaching at your school?

A: It was a joy to watch the 10 member WT symphony bass perform Shostakovich 5th symphony and Beethoven’s 7th this past year. They performed with amazing maturity and finesse but also could let it rip when needed. The studio is a tight knit group that works very hard and these concerts proved it! Non-musically, it is a joy to be at a smaller school where there is a great deal of one on one interaction. The students become very much like my own kids! Several students in the studio have joined us to perform as substitute players in the Amarillo Symphony and it is wonderful to see them reaching their professional potential!

This school has a lot more to offer than it first appears. WTAMU has a very low comparative tuition rate but a very high quality music education. The members of the studio represent all of our music majors; Performance, Therapy, Education, Composition and Music Industry. It is also a beautiful campus with good facilities including a designated bass room!

About The Bass Faculty

Nick Scales has served as Associate Professor of Double Bass in the School of Music at West Texas A&M University and Principal Bassist of the Amarillo Symphony since 2005. He is also Principal Bassist of the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra and Musical Theater Company as well as bassist for Polk Street Jazz and The Martinis in Amarillo. Nick is an accomplished, versatile performer who is comfortable in solo, orchestral, jazz and chamber music explorations. Performance credits include eleven years as core section bass in the Dallas Opera orchestra as well as numerous regional orchestral positions such as substitute performing with the San Antonio, Fort Worth, Tulsa and Shreveport Symphonies. (He has also performed numerous solo, chamber recitals and guest performances and presented many pedagogical clinics throughout his career.) In 2012, Nick was invited to perform as a faculty bassist at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy. His teaching experience includes adjunct appointments at Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas. Nick maintains a successful private studio and is highly regarded as a clinician and adjudicator. Academic administrative experience includes positions as Assistant to the Director, Director of Summer Music Institute and Coordinator for String Preparatory programs for the TCU School of Music, and 7 years serving as director for the WTAMU Chamber Music Strings Camp. He resides in Amarillo with his wife, Lori, who is also a bassist and ASO Assistant Principal Bass, and their two amazing daughters.