Dr. Scott Dirkse began writing program notes and providing pre-concert lectures for the Bakersfield Symphony in 2016. He has also written notes for the Sequoia Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, and Bakersfield Youth Orchestra, as well as delivered concert remarks for the Bakersfield Winds, Kern County Academic Decathlon, and the CSUB/BC Orchestra.

Dirkse holds a BA in music from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, an MM in piano pedagogy from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD in Musicology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is recognized as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music by the Music Teachers National Association and was the recipient of the 2013 UCSB Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2022 CMEA College/University Music Educator Award. He has presented at the national conferences for the College Music Society, the Music Teachers National Association, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and Teaching Music History Conference. He has also published articles in Clavier Companion, American Music Teacher, the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, and the Journal of Music History Pedagogy.

Dirkse serves as Director of Instrumental Studies at Bakersfield College and is the former Associate Director of Instrumental Music at Stockdale High School. He also serves on the Board of the Bakersfield Youth Orchestra and remains active as a scholar, performer, and music educator in the Bakersfield area.