Scott Williamson Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

Wilson Hall 4006
swilliamson@wlu.edu
Website

Scott Williamson is a creative artist, performer, director, teacher, conductor, and curator. In 2019 he fulfilled a career-long dream with the launch of the self-governing interdisciplinary ensemble of artists, Collective Euphonia. A 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholar, Scott spent the season on the faculty of West University in Romania, where he worked in Music and Theatre, International Relations, and the Center for Trans-Disciplinary Research.

General and Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke from 2010-2018, he created their Apprentice Artist program and co-produced notable company premieres, including The Flying Dutchman, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Floyd's Susannah and Rodgers' and Hammerstein's South Pacific. He conducted the world premiere of The Three Feathers, a family opera by composer Lori Laitman and poet Dana Gioia.

An internationally recognized tenor, the Times of London called his debut at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, “brilliant.” His work has been praised in The New York Times and Sun, Opera News, The Washington Post, and among others, Bayreuth’s Nordbayerische Kurier. In 2017, Scott made his Romanian debut at the National Opera House in Timisoara. He returned in 2019, creating the role of Nicolae Ceausescu for the premiere of Aaron Garber's opera, Romania: Revolution 1989, marking the 30th anniversary of the opera's historic subject.

Scott's repertoire spans over a millennium of western music, and he has participated in more than 100 premieres. His solo performances of Mendelssohn and Dallapiccola with the American Symphony are available on iTunes. “Night by Silent Sailing Night: A Performance of John Cage’s STEPS: A Composition for a Painting,” was hailed upon its creation at the Taubman Museum of Art, where he is Guest Curator in Music and a Museum Studies director. The 30' x 5' watercolor on paper is featured in the monograph, The Mountain Lake Symposium and Workshop: Art in Locale.

He led the professional chamber chorus, Virginia Chorale for three critically acclaimed seasons which featured dozens of new works, in addition to new collaborations with local schools, museums and arts festivals. Dr. Williamson has served on the faculties of Goshen College, Hollins University, and Virginia Tech. Scott began his career at WLU in 1996, where he continues to teach, perform and direct. In demand as a guest artist and presenter, his poetry has appeared in Atlanta Review and Tupelo Quarterly.

From 2014-2020 he was Music Director of Temple Emanuel in Roanoke, where he lives. He has served on the board of the historic Grandin Theatre and is an artistic advisor to TOI (Tidewater Opera Initiative). Scott’s work in multiple disciplines has impacted thousands of lives across the United States and on four continents.