Scott Wheeler (composer)
Encyclopedia
Scott Wheeler is an American concert-music composer, born February 24, 1952, in Washington, D.C., now based in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 1989, he has been on the faculty of Emerson College
in Boston, where he has co-directed the music theater program. Wheeler co-founded (with Rodney Lister and Ezra Sims
) and for many years was artistic director of the Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
, of which he remains artistic adviser. As an active conductor and an advocate for the music of his colleagues, he has led numerous world and local premieres and recorded several compact discs. Wheeler is on the board of directors of the Virgil Thomson Foundation], a composer advocacy group. He attended Amherst College
, the New England Conservatory, and Brandeis University
and counts Virgil Thomson among his teachers. He was also a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center
and in 1988 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
.
Scott Wheeler is best-known as the composer of vocal and theater music. In February 2006, he was one of several composers selected as part of the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater commissioning project for a new operatic work. Wheeler collaborates with his librettist, the playwright Romulus Linney
. This project is ongoing as of fall 2010. His major dramatic works include his opera Democracy, An American Comedy, written in collaboration with Linney on commission from Washington National Opera
. Democracy premiered at Kennedy Center in 2005. His dramatic cantata The Construction of Boston (1988), setting a libretto by the poet Kenneth Koch
(1925–2002), was recorded for the Naxos Records
label by the Boston Cecilia
. That piece was commissioned by the John Oliver Chorale and was premiered in 1989.
Wheeler has written music in most concert genres from solo pieces to orchestral. Commissions have come from such groups and organizations as the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Fromm Foundation, the Minnesota Orchestra
, Boston Cecilia, and Sequitur, among many others. His Sunday Songs, two songs on texts of Emily Dickinson
, were premiered by soprano Renée Fleming
in 2000 at New York’s Alice Tully Hall.
Recent works include his Heaven and Earth, settings of William Blake's works commissioned by the Marilyn Horne Foundation, which was premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2008, and the chamber symphony City of Shadows, commissioned by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
and Kent Nagano as part of a portrait concert of Wheeler’s work. His piano trio The Granite Coast, commissioned by the Rockport Chamber Music Society (Rockport, MA) for the opening of their new Shalin Liu Performance Center, was premiered in Rockport in June 2010. A compact disc of song recordings, Wasting the Night, was released by Naxos in 2010.
Wheeler’s particular concern as a composer is vocal and dramatic music. As such, he has a wide knowledge of and interest in poetry, and in addition to Kenneth Koch, he has set texts from authors ranging from St. Theresa of Avila to Wallace Stevens
and Mark Van Doren
. His vocal settings evoke natural speech rhythms and contours, called by Boston Globe critic Jeremy Eichler “transparent and elegant.”
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston, where he has co-directed the music theater program. Wheeler co-founded (with Rodney Lister and Ezra Sims
Ezra Sims
Ezra Sims is one of the pioneers in the field of microtonal composition. He invented a system of notation which was adopted by many microtonal composers after him, including Joseph Maneri....
) and for many years was artistic director of the Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble is a contemporary chamber music ensemble based in Boston, Massachusetts. The group was founded in 1975 by composers Scott Wheeler, Rodney Lister, and Ezra Sims as the concert giving “annex” of New England Dinosaur Dance Theater...
, of which he remains artistic adviser. As an active conductor and an advocate for the music of his colleagues, he has led numerous world and local premieres and recorded several compact discs. Wheeler is on the board of directors of the Virgil Thomson Foundation], a composer advocacy group. He attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, the New England Conservatory, and Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
and counts Virgil Thomson among his teachers. He was also a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
and in 1988 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
.
Scott Wheeler is best-known as the composer of vocal and theater music. In February 2006, he was one of several composers selected as part of the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater commissioning project for a new operatic work. Wheeler collaborates with his librettist, the playwright Romulus Linney
Romulus Linney
Romulus Linney may refer to:*Romulus Zachariah Linney , American politician*Romulus Linney , American playwright...
. This project is ongoing as of fall 2010. His major dramatic works include his opera Democracy, An American Comedy, written in collaboration with Linney on commission from Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
. Democracy premiered at Kennedy Center in 2005. His dramatic cantata The Construction of Boston (1988), setting a libretto by the poet Kenneth Koch
Kenneth Koch
Kenneth Koch was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77...
(1925–2002), was recorded for the Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
label by the Boston Cecilia
Boston Cecilia
The Boston Cecilia is a choral society in Boston, Massachusetts, which is in its 132nd season. Founded in 1876, the ensemble has enjoyed historic relationships with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and famous conductors and composers, such as Arthur Fiedler, Igor Stravinsky, and Antonín Dvořák...
. That piece was commissioned by the John Oliver Chorale and was premiered in 1989.
Wheeler has written music in most concert genres from solo pieces to orchestral. Commissions have come from such groups and organizations as the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Fromm Foundation, the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, Boston Cecilia, and Sequitur, among many others. His Sunday Songs, two songs on texts of Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, were premiered by soprano Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
in 2000 at New York’s Alice Tully Hall.
Recent works include his Heaven and Earth, settings of William Blake's works commissioned by the Marilyn Horne Foundation, which was premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2008, and the chamber symphony City of Shadows, commissioned by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1946 by American occupation forces as the RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester . It was also known as the American Sector Symphony Orchestra...
and Kent Nagano as part of a portrait concert of Wheeler’s work. His piano trio The Granite Coast, commissioned by the Rockport Chamber Music Society (Rockport, MA) for the opening of their new Shalin Liu Performance Center, was premiered in Rockport in June 2010. A compact disc of song recordings, Wasting the Night, was released by Naxos in 2010.
Wheeler’s particular concern as a composer is vocal and dramatic music. As such, he has a wide knowledge of and interest in poetry, and in addition to Kenneth Koch, he has set texts from authors ranging from St. Theresa of Avila to Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
and Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, and Beat Generation...
. His vocal settings evoke natural speech rhythms and contours, called by Boston Globe critic Jeremy Eichler “transparent and elegant.”