Composition Matters

Jun 23 2006
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Barbara Scowcroft
Barbara Scowcroft

[b]Barbara Scowcroft[/b] is currently in her 24th season in the Utah Symphony as a first violinist, where she also served as acting Assistant Concertmaster in the 1998-1999 season.

In 1986, Ms. Scowcroft became Music Director and Conductor of the Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra was invited to participate in the Cultural Olympiad for the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt lake City, for which she expanded the orchestra of 135 Utahns into an International orchestra of 170 musicians representing twelve countries and five continents.

Ms. Scowcroft was Music Director and General Manager of the Nova Chamber Music Series from 1986-2004, receiving the Governor's Award in the Arts for that organization in 1999. She was also Music Director and Conductor for the Vivaldi Candlelight concerts from 1997 to 2004. She performs annually in the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and recently conducted works for large ensembles on their chamber music series. Ms. Scowcroft has been a guest conductor at the American Festival for the Arts in Houston, Texas since 2000, for which she was recently appointed Resident Conductor. In April of 2006, Ms. Scowcroft made her debut as the first woman conductor of the Salt Lake Symphony, receiving positive reviews for her musical interpretation. Ms. Scowcroft is an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Utah.

During her high school years, Ms. Scowcroft was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Ms. Scowcroft received both her Bachelor of Arts in Violin Performance and her Masters of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Utah.

In 1992, Ms. Scowcroft received Salt Lake City's first Mayor's Award for the Arts. In 2003, she received O.C. Tanner's "Everyday Hero" award for her contributions to Utah non-profit organizations, and in 2004, was selected by the National Association of Women Business Owners, Utah Business Magazine, and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce as one of "Thirty Visionary Women" of Utah.

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I again appreciate the time and thoughts of those who sent in responses on this very important topic. To sum up, for me, my personal commitment to education of the youth has been re-enforced this week. That is a powerful and valuable tool. And those of us in the professional orchestra world feel strength in knowing that we’re not alone, and we should feel bold enough to make necessary moves to make the situation between manager, conductor, composer, performer, audience smoother and stronger. My final thought is hat personal initiative is more valuable and more possible than perhaps many of us think it is. In thinking through this subject this week, I remembered my own experiences through music and college, the time I had so many opportunities in playing and creating at the North Carolina School of the Arts and when I moved to the University of Utah to finish up, there weren’t the built in traditions and forums for students to participate in new and cutting-edge concerts.

So, what I started to do was create my own opportunities; and luckily, the faculty provided me with encouragement, and helped me to be successful in that environment. As in young days in the university, I found out that my own beliefs and dreams, I had to push and create them myself because no one else would do it for me. This might translate into giving us adults some incentive for not giving up. If we time it right, if we talk to the right people at the right time, we might be surprised at what can happen.

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Barbara Scowcroft
Barbara Scowcroft

[b]Barbara Scowcroft[/b] is currently in her 24th season in the Utah Symphony as a first violinist, where she also served as acting Assistant Concertmaster in the 1998-1999 season.

In 1986, Ms. Scowcroft became Music Director and Conductor of the Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra was invited to participate in the Cultural Olympiad for the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt lake City, for which she expanded the orchestra of 135 Utahns into an International orchestra of 170 musicians representing twelve countries and five continents.

Ms. Scowcroft was Music Director and General Manager of the Nova Chamber Music Series from 1986-2004, receiving the Governor's Award in the Arts for that organization in 1999. She was also Music Director and Conductor for the Vivaldi Candlelight concerts from 1997 to 2004. She performs annually in the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and recently conducted works for large ensembles on their chamber music series. Ms. Scowcroft has been a guest conductor at the American Festival for the Arts in Houston, Texas since 2000, for which she was recently appointed Resident Conductor. In April of 2006, Ms. Scowcroft made her debut as the first woman conductor of the Salt Lake Symphony, receiving positive reviews for her musical interpretation. Ms. Scowcroft is an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Utah.

During her high school years, Ms. Scowcroft was a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. She studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Ms. Scowcroft received both her Bachelor of Arts in Violin Performance and her Masters of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Utah.

In 1992, Ms. Scowcroft received Salt Lake City's first Mayor's Award for the Arts. In 2003, she received O.C. Tanner's "Everyday Hero" award for her contributions to Utah non-profit organizations, and in 2004, was selected by the National Association of Women Business Owners, Utah Business Magazine, and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce as one of "Thirty Visionary Women" of Utah.

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