Stephen Scott
Encyclopedia
Stephen Scott is an American composer best known for his development of the bowed piano
(borrowed from C. Curtis-Smith, who invented the technique in 1972), which involves a grand piano being played by an ensemble of ten musicians who utilize lengths of horsehair, nylon filament, and other utensils to bow the strings of the piano, creating an orchestra-like sound. Scott founded the Bowed Piano Ensemble in 1977, for which he composes. His work is associated with the minimal
style of composition.
Scott studied with Homer Keller
at the University of Oregon
. He has taught music at Colorado College
since 1969, and has been a full professor there since 1989. He has also taught at Evergreen State College and has served as visiting composer at the Aspen Music School, New England Conservatory of Music
, Princeton University
, the University of Southern California
, and at several universities and conservatories in Australia and Europe.
Several recordings with Scott's Bowed Piano Ensemble have been released by New Albion Records.
Prepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
(borrowed from C. Curtis-Smith, who invented the technique in 1972), which involves a grand piano being played by an ensemble of ten musicians who utilize lengths of horsehair, nylon filament, and other utensils to bow the strings of the piano, creating an orchestra-like sound. Scott founded the Bowed Piano Ensemble in 1977, for which he composes. His work is associated with the minimal
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
style of composition.
Scott studied with Homer Keller
Homer Keller
Homer T. Keller was an American composer of contemporary classical music.He graduated from Oxnard Union High School in Oxnard, California in 1933, after which he attended the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Howard Hanson, obtaining B.M. and M.M. degrees...
at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. He has taught music at Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
since 1969, and has been a full professor there since 1989. He has also taught at Evergreen State College and has served as visiting composer at the Aspen Music School, New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and at several universities and conservatories in Australia and Europe.
Several recordings with Scott's Bowed Piano Ensemble have been released by New Albion Records.
External links
- Stephen Scott page at Colorado College Music Department site
- Stephen Scott interview by Daniel Varela, from Perfect Sound Forever (PSF) site
- Interview with Stephen Scott from American Mavericks site
- U.S. premiere of Stephen Scott's Paisajes Audibles (Audible Landscapes), for soprano and bowed piano (2002) at Other Minds 9, 8 March 2003 at Other Minds 9 at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
- Video from Stephen Scott page at Colorado College Music Department site