Scott Wheeler

Born in Washington DC, Scott Wheeler is best known for his operas. His one-act The Construction of Boston is available on Naxos. His opera Democracy was commissioned by Plácido Domingo for Washington National Opera. The Sorrows of Frederick was co-commissioned and workshopped by the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theatre. His most recent opera commission is Naga, on a libretto of Cerise Jacobs, co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and Boston Lyric Opera, scheduled for premiere in 2016.

Other current and recent commissions include “200 Dreams from Captivity” for baritone and orchestra on texts of Wang Dan, and works for Boston Cecilia, Rockport Music and the Barlow Foundation. In recent seasons, Wheeler’s works have been performed in Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Austria, Italy, Panama, Winnipeg, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Wheeler’s songs have been performed by Renée Fleming, Susanna Phillips, Sanford Sylvan, William Sharp, the New York Festival of Song, and many others. He has been awarded the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the Composer of the Year award from the Classical Recording Foundation for his Naxos CD of songs Wasting the Night.

A CD of Wheeler’s orchestral music is entitled “Crazy Weather,” with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project conducted by Gil Rose and released by BMOP Sound. His chamber music for strings and piano is available on Newport Classic. Scott Wheeler is the 2014 winner of the Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He teaches in musical theatre at Emerson College in Boston.