Miniature Symphonies

Scott’s interest in composition was kindled while he was attending Christopher Columbus High School, educating himself in composition that ensued in readings of his first compositions by the school’s orchestra and band. Upon graduation in 1974, Scott began formal lessons in composition with John Corigliano and Ulysses Kay at Herbert H. Lehman College in the Bronx, and continued his studies at the Mannes College of Music with Christine Berl and David Tcimpidis, in addition to conducting with Yakov Kreizberg.

In 1984, Scott’s Fanfare G.A.F.: An American Overture was premiered by the Queens Philharmonic, which led to a series of commissions from the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Queens Symphony through the New York State Council on the Arts. In 1989, Scott was appointed resident composer for the RAPP Arts Center in Manhattan, writing scores for various theatrical productions including Thomas M. Disch’s Ben-Hur and new adaptations of Chekov’s The Sea Gull and Uncle Vanya.

In addition to his works for orchestra and the theatre, Scott has also composed music for chorus, wind ensemble, chamber ensemble and voice, in addition to underscoring various independent films. His sixth string quartet from 1995 received the first William Grant Still Memorial Commission, sponsored by St. Augustine’s College and Duke University, and premiered by the Ciompi Quartet.

As a conductor Scott is a tireless advocate of programming new, unknown or unjustly neglected composers. He has served as music director or resident conductor of several groups in the New York area, including the Doctor’s Orchestral Society of New York, the Schubert Music Society, the Central City Chorus and the Bronx Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia and the Varna State Philharmonic in Bulgaria. From 2006 to 2014, Scott served on the faculty of SUNY Orange County Community College in Middletown NY, where he directed the college’s concert band program, and from 2014 to 2018 served as the music director of the Maybrook Wind Ensemble.

Scott has also recorded the music of Ulysses Kay for Albany Records, has written liner notes for new recordings of Bernard Herrmann’s film scores for the California-based Tribute Film Classics label, and preface notes to several of Hugo Kaun’s works for Musikproduktion Jürgen Höflich in Munich. He has also served on the music panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, and has served as a lecturer on various discussion panels and colleges.

Scott’s thoughts as a composer and conductor are reflected in William Banfield’s book Musical Landscapes in Color: Conversations with Black American Composers, published by Greenwood Press.