Fall 2020

To Whom It May Concern,

As the former principal at Moreau Catholic High School, it is my pleasure and honor to recommend Scott
Barton as an Arts Educator. Mr. Barton’s commitment to arts education and his vision for school administration
exemplifies exceptional leadership during exceptional times.

Mr. Barton was already a successful and celebrated choral teacher when I arrived as principal at Moreau
Catholic in 2013. In just a few years, he had taken a struggling program and developed it into a vibrant model
of rejuvenation and revival. Students were competing to get into the program and several were offered national
awards and university scholarships as a result of the effective training and superior leadership that Mr. Barton
brought to the program. I soon learned that Mr. Barton’s secret to success was his ability to bring out the best
in his students, demonstrate compassion, and share his love for the arts with even the most reluctant singers.
These same students admired him as a positive role model who was willing to listen to input in order to bring
about meaningful and authentic transformational change. His colleagues complimented his ability to multitask
and were impressed by his initiative, energy, and creativity. Most importantly, the administrators at the school
recognized his leadership potential and encouraged him to pursue his dreams of expanding programs and
reaching even more students through coaching his students in the school musicals.

Programmatically, Mr. Barton organized the most active Catholic high school choral program in the Bay Area
with over 80 student singers involved in four sequential choirs and musical theater performance opportunities.
For three years in a row, Moreau Catholic, under the leadership of Mr. Barton, had the third highest number of
individual students selected from over 25+ participating high school programs to attend the American Choral
Directors Association’s Coastal Region Honors Choirs from over 25 participating High School programs. For
two consecutive years, the Moreau Catholic Honors Choir and Chamber Singers were accepted into the
prestigious Golden State Mixed Choral Competition where only the top 10 groups from over 45 ensembles
auditioning in mixed and large choir categories are accepted to compete at the state level competition. Under
the direction of Mr. Barton, his competitive choirs received the highest possible level of “superior” at the
California Music Educators Association Adjudication and Assessment Festivals and his choirs also received
First Place awards on tour in Southern California, New York City, and various competitions regionally.

As you can see, Mr. Barton is an exceptional leader and program developer. Through this experience, Mr.
Barton continued to move his programs from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Mr. Barton has the talent to
bring out the best in the people whom he leads and inspires others to raise his standards as high as his. Mr.
Barton is a one of a kind leader who transforms his community with his presence and confidence.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience with this gifted educator and leader. Please contact me
for more information.

Sincerely,

Lisa Tortorich
Former Principal
Moreau Catholic High School
lmtortorich@gmail.com