Current and Recent Commissions
Purple Mountains
for Solo Piano
I'm proud to be a part of this unique and timely project. Pianist Min Kwon has commissioned more than 70 composers to write a variation on "America the Beautiful" for solo piano. My contribution is entitled "Purple Mountains". The project premiered online July 4th-9th 2021, culminating with two LIVE CONCERTS in a Brooklyn Catacomb July 8 and 9. In the words of Min Kwon....
Dear Friends,
This project has been a long time in the making, but its guiding spirit took on more special meaning for me as I worked on it over the past nine months (parallel in so many ways to giving birth!) during this unprecedented moment we are living through together. America has been shaken by concurrent crises across its social, racial, political, economic, cultural, and health sectors. In spite of these many challenges, however, I am grateful for the time that the pandemic has afforded me - to dedicate myself to exploring the sound worlds of so many wonderful American composers, and the profound diversity of backgrounds and styles they represent. I am humbled that they have agreed to contribute to this dream vision of mine and that they have entrusted me to bring their music to life.
The voices of these "United Composers of America" form a powerful chorus, a collective musical snapshot that I'm sure will reverberate far beyond the present moment. I can't wait to share this project with you, and I hope it helps to remind us, in spite of all the difficulties we face, that there is still so much beauty in this country of ours.
Yours,
Min Kwon, January, 2021
The Arc
I am proud and humbled on THIS DAY, to announce the presentation of my work "Sinfonietta of Dreams" for chamber orchestra and gospel choir. The work is based on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have A Dream" speech, first heard in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on November 27, 1962 and is featured as part of their ARC annual MLK Tribute Concert. Many thanks to Peter Askim for commissioning the work three years ago and helping me to realize this ambitious project.
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Below is a description of the program.
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Chicago Sinfonietta
Sunday, March 28, 2021
3:00 PM CDT online event
"The Arc" annual MLK Tribute Concert
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In celebrating Dr. King, the Sinfonietta has selected three enthralling works by a trio of African American composers: Florence Price, Joel Thompson, and Jeff Scott. William Grant Still’s orchestral arrangement of Florence Price’s piano work, Dances in the Canebrakes, now a Chicago Sinfonietta signature, highlights the talent of composers of color from yesteryear and kicks off the celebration with a joyful note.
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The Sinfonietta’s second commission by a composer of color for the 2020-21 season follows. Written by composer Joel Thompson, it is titled breathe/burn: an elegy and composed in memory of Breonna Taylor. Thompson describes the work as "an exploration of the liminal space between grief and rage in response to the tragedies afflicting the Black community in 2020" and it is performed with the extremely talented Chicago cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing in the role of soloist.
Jeff Scott’s work, Sinfonietta of Dreams, reinforces the positive inspiration of Dr. King’s work and is based on his famous “I Have A Dream Speech” first heard in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on November 27, 1962. The Sinfonietta closes the online concert with a Chicago Sinfonietta tradition: We Shall Overcome, performed in unison from homes across the country in a spirit of hope and resilience.
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FLORENCE PRICE Dances in the Canebrakes
I. Nimble Feet
II. Tropical Noon
III. Silk Hat and Walking Cane
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JOEL THOMPSON breathe/burn*: an elegy composed in memory of Breonna Taylor
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JEFF SCOTT Sinfonietta of Dreams
II. Prayer
I. Hope
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Adapted by Hamilton, Horton, and Seeger (arr. Roy Ringwald)
We Shall Overcome
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Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Antoine T. Clark, guest conductor
Joel Thompson, composer
Ifetayo Ali-Landing, cello
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*World Premiere, Chicago Sinfonietta Commission
Terra
Sacrum
Scheduled for Summer 2021, Quadre has commissioned a multi-movement work for Horn Quartet and Chorus. “Terra Sacrum” (Sacred Earth) speaks to nature, earth and their laws handed down by the God of Christian faith. This work also explores the sonorous pairing of human voices and french horns.
Commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in November, 2021
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Program Notes
Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, Detroit. For me it wasn’t a question of whether I knew the history, but rather, why I didn’t. As I toured through the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, I thought…. Motown, check. Ford Motor Company, check. The Flame Show Bar? The Gotham Hotel? For me, not a notion. Paradise Theater? The very venue that this newly commissioned work will premiere, or Orchestra Hall as we know it. I had no clue that it once operated as a Jazz venue under this name. From 1941-1951 the Paradise Theater hosted the who’s who of jazz royalty. Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and more. This piece of local history was an entryway to a much larger story. A story of a once thriving African American community. A community that grew from extremely humble beginnings during the Great Migration and out of the Great Depression.
Only to be razed in favor of “Urban Renewal” projects in the 50's, 60's and 70’s. This work, Paradise Valley Serenade, opens with a morning yawn and sunrise in “Dawn and Dusk”. The day has begun like most others and there is work to be done, like in any other urban American community. But unlike most communities, there is a cultural hub within, that spews musical fire by night and draws the culturally curious to witness the flames. In the second movement, “Paradise, Razed but not Forgotten”, I envisioned an elder from the Paradise Valley or Black Bottom community, in a docile voice, telling the story to a grandchild. The story is told with great melancholy and even describes his/her witnessing of the demolition of the neighborhoods. That said, there is pride in the telling. A feeling of fortitude and resilience. For the last movement, “A Hug for Cab”, I envisioned what it might have been like to see Cab Calloway live at the Paradise Theater. With his swinging big band, double entendre lyrics, high energy dancing and stage antics.
Paradise Valley Serenade
for Wind Quintet and Symphony Orchestra
Commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in November, 2021
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Program Notes
Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, Detroit. For me it wasn’t a question of whether I knew the history, but rather, why I didn’t. As I toured through the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, I thought…. Motown, check. Ford Motor Company, check. The Flame Show Bar? The Gotham Hotel? For me, not a notion. Paradise Theater? The very venue that this newly commissioned work will premiere, or Orchestra Hall as we know it. I had no clue that it once operated as a Jazz venue under this name. From 1941-1951 the Paradise Theater hosted the who’s who of jazz royalty. Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and more. This piece of local history was an entryway to a much larger story. A story of a once thriving African American community. A community that grew from extremely humble beginnings during the Great Migration and out of the Great Depression.
Only to be razed in favor of “Urban Renewal” projects in the 50's, 60's and 70’s. This work, Paradise Valley Serenade, opens with a morning yawn and sunrise in “Dawn and Dusk”. The day has begun like most others and there is work to be done, like in any other urban American community. But unlike most communities, there is a cultural hub within, that spews musical fire by night and draws the culturally curious to witness the flames. In the second movement, “Paradise, Razed but not Forgotten”, I envisioned an elder from the Paradise Valley or Black Bottom community, in a docile voice, telling the story to a grandchild. The story is told with great melancholy and even describes his/her witnessing of the demolition of the neighborhoods. That said, there is pride in the telling. A feeling of fortitude and resilience. For the last movement, “A Hug for Cab”, I envisioned what it might have been like to see Cab Calloway live at the Paradise Theater. With his swinging big band, double entendre lyrics, high energy dancing and stage antics.
A Morte Devegar
for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble
Premiered in November 2021 by Lyric Fest, "A Morte Devegar" through the generous gift of Jeffrey Brillhart and Joacy Mendonça, was commissioned as part of THE SONG CATCHER - A Folksong Project.
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A Morte Devagar (The Slow Death) is based on a poem of the same title by Brazilian poet Martha Madeiros. The poem chronicles the obstacles, barriers, fears and doubts that prevent many people from experiencing life to its fullest until it is likely too late to enjoy. My own personal struggle to take risks, live more spontaneously and battle life-long fears was called to the carpet with every verse of this intriguing poem. Setting these verses to music was the easier part of my journey. Launching the work, this musical depiction of a personal battle, is the first big step.
Homage to Paradise Valley
for Reed Quintet
Homage to Paradise Valley was commissioned by and composed for Akropolis in 2019, with support from the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Paradise Valley, a now-displaced neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, became of interest to Jeff Scott after he and Akropolis visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, while Jeff's quintet, Imani Winds, was passing through Detroit on tour. Homage to Paradise Valley utilizes Jeff's diverse musical background as a jazz and studio musician in New York City. Comprised of 4 movements.
1. Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. The term has sometimes been used to apply to the entire neighborhood including Paradise Valley, which reaches from the Detroit River north to Grand Boulevard. In the early 20th century, African-American residents became concentrated here during the first wave of the Great Migration to northern industrial cities. Informal segregation operated in the city to keep them in this area of older, less expensive housing. The name of the neighborhood is often erroneously believed to be a reference to the African-American community that developed in the 20th century, but it was named during the colonial era by the early French settlers because of its dark, fertile topsoil (known as river bottomlands). Black Bottom/Paradise Valley became known for its African American residents' significant contributions to American music, including Blues, Big Band, and Jazz, from the 1930s to '50s. Black Bottom's substandard housing was eventually cleared and redeveloped for various urban renewal projects, driving the residents out. By the 1960s the neighborhood ceased to exist.
2. Hastings Street ran north-south through Black Bottom and had been a center of Eastern European Jewish settlement before World War I, but by the 1950s, migration transformed the strip into one of Detroit's major African-American communities of black-owned businesses, social institutions, and nightclubs. Music was the focal point of Hastings Street, with world-famous jazz and blues artists visiting almost daily.
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3. From the Bantu language of Swahili, "Roho, Pumzika kwa Amani" (Spirits, Rest Peacefully) is a lullaby. My humble offering to the many souls who came before me, and preserved through the middle passage, decades of slavery, disenfranchising laws, and inequality. I am who I am because of those who stood before me. May their spirits rest peacefully.
Available on cd â„— 2021 New Focus Recordings GHOST LIGHT (Akropolis Reed Quintet)
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4. Orchestra Hall, where the Detroit Symphony Orchestra now performs, closed in 1939, but reopened in 1941 as the Paradise Theater. For 10 years it would then offer the best of African-American musicians from around the country. Duke Ellington opened Christmas week with his big band, admission was 50 cents, and patrons could stay all day. There were 3 shows every day and 4 on weekends. "B" movies were shown between acts.
During the glory days of jazz the Paradise Theater saw Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Billie Holiday, and many more. "Paradise Theater Jump'' is dedicated to the famed theater and harkens to the up-tempo style of "jump blues," usually played by small groups and featuring saxophone or brass instruments." One can learn more about this part of Detroit's history by visiting the Detroit Historical Society website at www.detroithistorical.org
Sunrise on the Bayou
for String Orchestra, accordion and percussion.
"Sunrise on the Bayou" was Commissioned by The United States Air Force Band, Colonel Don Schofield, Commander and Conductor. It is scored for string orchestra with accordion and percussion and explores the joyful rhythms and sounds of SOCA music.
Circle Dance
Commissioned by the Portland Youth Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra Commissioning Initiative, and premiered in November 2020, "Circle Dance" was composed for a horn quartet. The inspiration behind this new work was the communal, folk tradition of dancing in a circle, which has history in many cultures. Specifically, I focused on the rhythms of the African and Latin traditions. I feel it an important factor for all musicians, but especially young musicians, to become familiar with as many different musical influences as possible. Here was a great opportunity to help in that effort.
Crossing Barriers
for Brass Trio (FORMERLY Tableaux from the Equator)
Commissioned by the Lantana Trio in 2021
Crossing Barriers is a set of three short works for Brass Trio that celebrate the ancient practice of the Circle Dance and the African influence as the practice migrated along the Equator. Being probably the oldest known dance formation, circle dancing is an ancient tradition common to many cultures for marking special occasions, rituals, strengthening community and encouraging togetherness. Circle dances are choreographed to many different styles of music and rhythms. Modern circle dance mixes traditional folk dances. The basic formation of African dance is in lines and circles; dances are performed by lines or circles of dancers. There is supernatural power in the circle, the curved, and the round. “Let the circle be unbroken” is a popular creed throughout Africa.
The Journey
for Symphony Orchestra
Commissioned in 2022 by the Portland Youth Symphony, with generous support from Marge and Carl Abbott. Premiere Performance
JEFF SCOTT: “THE JOURNEY” PROGRAM NOTE
JEFF SCOTT
THE JOURNEY (2022)
I. The Awakening
II. Fool’s March - Dance of the Jesters
III. Falling Serenade
IV. Depression
V. Heroic Return
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It is rare in classical music, that a composer and performing artist collaborate to the extent of advising the melodic content and source material. It is even rarer that the commissioning artists are invited to give title to the final product! To say that The Journey was a collaboration wouldn’t show enough respect to the true meaning of this creative process. The classical music community has a fully established hierarchy of composers and canon works that, while they are masterpieces, are what we as musicians and patrons of the art are told is the standard.
Historically that standard has been narrowly focused and even more often exclusive to non-European points of view. As a young person, I was known for carrying a “Boom-Box” that had a mixtape that would smoothly segue from Mozart Horn concertos, to “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang, to Nina Simone’s version of, “Young Gifted and Black.” My thought was, it’s all great music…all important music. By the time I was 16 years old and fully entrenched in my chair in the New York Youth Philharmonic, I was fully aware that my thoughts on what was considered great or important music didn’t fit into the canon. This collaboration was about reaching back to that young child and validating my youthful
vision. The members of PYP were charged with something very simple but rare, to
participate autonomously in the very creation of their musical future. As a composer, I can honestly say I have not felt a deeper connection as a composer to an artist within the creative process. This work truly belongs to the 100 plus members of PYP and to any young musician who dares to seek autonomy in classical music.
– Jeff Scott, 2023
Für Meinen Vater
for Soprano and
String Quintet
Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall was the setting for the March 31 premiere of "Für Meinen Vater" (For My Father). This song is part of a larger work which received its world premiere that evening, as part of the song cycle Forgotten Voices. Commissioned by Music Kitchen—Food for the Soul, a project of violinist Kelly Hall-Tomkins, with additional support from Carnegie Hall, it features text by homeless shelter clients. The full cycle incorporates songs written by 15 award-winning composers.
Sermon for Saints and Sinners
for Brass Quintet and Narrator
Sermon for Saints and Sinners with poetry by A. B. Spellman is the musical telling of my stepfather, Veryl “Farouk” Walker. It was commissioned by the Atlantic Brass Quintet in 2021 but was a personal and burdensome story, waiting to be discarded from my shoulders for more than 40 years. I thank you A.B. for finding just the right words to guide me to a place where I am more often releasing the burden and less reliving it.
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The scene is Far Rockaway, Queens in N.Y.C. It’s 1978 at the beginning of the crack-cocaine era. My patriarch has fallen victim.
PROGRAM NOTES
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1. Demons Within
The bathroom door is locked. My stepfather has been in there for what seems like an hour. There is a strong scent emanating from the crevice that is both sweet and pungent. While I never actually saw the drug, I always knew when crack-cocaine was being liquified. I also always knew when his ‘high’ went up and when it came crashing down, all from the other side of the bathroom door.
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2. Blues for the Chuckle Up Man!
Chuckle-Up! My stepfather’s side-hustle. A homemade game board with dice. He would hit the streets when we were desperate for money. He always won because it was a scam. My strongest memory of this was when a fight broke out between my stepfather and someone playing the game. The player claimed he put his money on a number and that the wind must've blown it. Threats were thrown and eventually my stepfather ran home to get his gun. Or at least that's what he warned. He didn't own a gun. But he came out of the house, running towards the man with a broom stick wrapped in a towel. It certainly looked like a gun. Everyone on the corner ran away. From that day on people who saw or heard of this, called me Lil Chuckle Up. Sort of street respect, I guess. It also seemed that everyone in the neighborhood feared my stepdad.
3. Sermon
After what was likely his 6th release from drug rehab, my stepfather decided we would go to a local church where he could repent. Why he chose the only white congregation in our neighborhood befuddled me and my mom. It was truly the most embarrassing day of my youth, listening to him testify from the pulpit as if it were an AA meeting. And the looks from the congregation as they all took turns looking back at me and my mom with pity.
4. Epilogue: A Street Anthem
The last time I saw my stepfather was in 1990, on the NYC subway. A bagman. For the previous 6 years he had been in and out of drug rehab, jail and halfway homes. My mother finally got the courage to deny him reentry.
He was sitting across from me in the subway car for what had to be 20 minutes, nodding. I didn’t notice him until someone tried to sit in the same area and thought twice. I was in shock and froze. I didn’t want him to see me. He was emaciated. I waited until my stop came and until I was safely on the platform to rap on the window of his seat. He woke up and immediately started yelling “where is your mother” “where are you guys”. We hadn’t moved from our home.
Just Us for Bassoon
Horn and Piano
Commissioned by Katie Jordan and William Short.
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Dedicated to and inspired by my mother Jennifer “Jennie Bell '' Scott who would always say to me as a child, “Baby…it’s just you and me against the world”.
Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers
for Chamber Ensemble and Narrator
April 9, 2022 - Imani Winds performed the World Premiere of Jeff Scott’s Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers - a new work featuring poetry by Robert Laidler based on the lived experiences of four Michigan Juvenile Lifers: persons now in their 40s and 50s who were handed mandatory sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole while in their teens, and released only after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional. The poetry is based upon material gathered through interviews by poet Laidler and project director Bryan Jones. The work was commissioned by Chamber Music Detroit; funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and Chamber Music Detroit’s Lee and Paul Blizman Endowment for Contemporary Music.
ABOUT FALLEN PETALS OF NAMELESS FLOWERS
”In a shadowed corner of the American judicial system, the application of mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole has fallen upon very young offenders, disproportionately so upon young men of color. Against a backdrop of legal systems in Michigan and elsewhere still taking halting steps toward righting this wrong, Fallen Petals of Nameless Flowers combines personal accounts of formerly incarcerated individuals, original poetry by Robert Laidler, and an original music
score by Jeff Scott to shine a brighter light on the human side of this issue. The metaphors of flowers as men and petals as arms are used dramatically in the poetry, as well as the personal stories. This and the colorful instrumentation of the ensemble made for rich source material and composition tools for the score. It is the composer’s hope that this work will help to create a safe space for further discussion, action, and empathy.”
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- Jeff Scott, composer