Scott “Scooter” Nelson


Scooter Nelson is the Associate Program Chair, and a long-time faculty member of the Music & Entertainment Business program at IPR. In fact, Scooter was instrumental in the development of the degree and is the author of the curriculum for several of its core classes.

In 2013, Scooter was awarded a “Faculty Member of the Year” honor by his peers at IPR. He adds that to a few more well-known awards, like an Emmy, two Telly Awards, and five Parent Choice Gold Awards to name a few.

Scooter began his commercial singing career in 1983 and has been a member of AFTRA Union for 17 years. He has been the featured voice on many national TV jingles, for companies like General Mills, Jockey, Whirlpool, Northwest Airlines, Bush Beer, and Minnesota Twins Baseball. In the late eighties and early nineties, Scooter was an force in the local music scene, he was the Music Director and Talent Buyer at the Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, he co-promoted talent at Guthrie Theater and The Dakota Jazz Club, and created and produced “Live at The Fine Line” Radio show with Cities 97 FM. He also managed to tour Japan with City Cats, as cultural music ambassadors for Minneapolis’ sister city program with Osaka and Ibaraki Japan.

These days, when he is not teaching, Scooter spends time with his family and continues to perform and sing regularly with The Tex Pistols and The Mary Jane Alm Band.

Education

  • Rochester State College
  • Minnesota State University, Mankato

Career Highlights

  • Founder: The Music Workshop for Kids
  • Director: Once upon a Tree, PBS/Discovery Chanel
  • Director: K-9 to Five, Animal Planet Network
  • Co-Owner: Mogul Music
  • Writer, musical score: Dragonfly TV, PBS
  • Writer, musical score: Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,  Travel Channel

Awards

  • Emmy Award (Guthrie Theater)
  • Five Minnesota Music Awards (singer and musician)
  • Five Parent’s Choice Gold Awards (children’s music)
  • Two Telly Awards (non-broadcast video music)
  • 3M Visionary Award (Producer, Sky Blue Catfish)
  • The Recording Academy Decade Award
  • New York Film Festival Honorable Mention (music video)
  • Minnesota Governor’s Arts Award
  • 2012 Inductee into the Mid America Music Hall of Fame