Undergraduate Admission
Emerson College
Undergraduate Faculty: Scott Wheeler
http://admission.emerson.edu/admission/undergraduate/faculty/Scott-Wheeler.cfm
Scott Wheeler

Scott Wheeler

Think about your voice for a moment. Now think about the magnificence of the operatic voice. Then imagine taking the performing arts course Writing Music for the Voice with a professor whose own operas have been staged by nationally acclaimed groups in theatres including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. With Professor Scott Wheeler as your guide, your voice surely will grow with intelligence (“take a love poem by Pablo Neruda and set it to music”), confidence (“sing the poem to the class”), and depth (“six students wrote music for the same poem and came up with six distinct styles—what changed, where do you notice the subtle differences?”).

An accomplished "renaissance man of music," Professor Wheeler skillfully conducts, composes, performs, and, especially, teaches. He describes himself as a “classically trained musician who took a sideline in musical theatre.” That juxtaposition of styles and abilities make for an enriching classroom and studio experience in both musical theory and performance.

It was happenstance that brought him to Emerson more than two decades ago. “I was just finishing my doctorate while I was also studying performance in Boston. I loved it all, the academic side and the artistic side. Emerson was looking for an accompanist so I came and stayed. At Emerson, I get to do it all,” he says.

Professor Wheeler’s music has been commissioned and performed by the orchestras of Minnesota, Houston, Toledo, and Indianapolis, as well as by New York City Opera. His work has been recognized with awards by the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. At Emerson, he has conducted spring musicals and has taught undergraduate classes in Music Analysis and has co-taught the Junior BFA Musical Theatre Studio and an interdisciplinary class for non-majors in Poetry and Song (with the unique culminating experience, a class coffeehouse performance).

“Everything I do at Emerson is related to the rest of my work. Whether I am collaborating with an orchestra on a commissioned work or performing with my new-music chamber ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, the energy of the classroom infuses my work and I, in turn, bring the energy and creativity of the professional world back to my students.”

Scott Wheeler's Links