Scott Williamson, Music Director
The Virginia Chorale Board of Directors announced June 24, 2008 that conductor Scott Williamson will become the new Music Director of the Virginia Chorale beginning with the 2008/09 season. In his first season as Music Director, he will lead the professional choral ensemble in eight concerts throughout Hampton Roads celebrating the ensemble’s 25th anniversary. He will also play a primary role with the Chorale’s education programs including the Young Singers Project, the Chorale’s elite high school ensemble.
A Chesapeake native, Williamson brings a wealth of experience to the Commonwealth’s premiere professional chorus. He has been an Associate Conductor, Chorus Master, and artist with Opera Roanoke since 1998. He has conducted operas such as Rigoletto, Noye’s Fludde, The Old Maid and the Thief, and appeared with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra for Gala concerts in 2006 & 2007. In academia, he has served as Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Shepherd University, Associate Professor of Music at Goshen College (Indiana), and Associate Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Washington and Lee University, where he frequently returns as a guest artist and professor. Williamson has also conducted the Connecticut Choral Society Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, the Westminster Community Orchestra, the Shenandoah University Symphony Orchestra, and the Masterworks Orchestra and has prepared choruses for such eminent conductors as Joseph Flummerfelt, Vance George, Donald Nally, and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Of the appointment Williamson said, "I am honored and excited to be leading this world-class ensemble and I am thrilled to be coming back home. Conducting the Virginia Chorale is a great privilege and I look forward to many happy years together."
Board President Stuart Schwartz stated, “The Virginia Chorale is widely regarded as one of the premiere professional choral ensembles in the United States. After conducting a nationwide search, we believe we have found the right person to lead this outstanding ensemble as we celebrate our 25th year of making great music. Scott Williamson’s remarkable talent, intelligence and energy are the absolute right match for the Chorale and the Hampton Roads community. There could not be a more forward looking choice."
Executive Director Betsy Fitzgerald commented, "From the moment Scott began conducting the ensemble, there was an immediate connection and chemistry with the Virginia Chorale singers. I cannot imagine a person better suited than Scott Williamson to lead the ensemble and help the Chorale achieve its goals of reaching out to new audiences, building stronger education programs for all ages, and dreaming of what can be. This is a match for our ensemble, for our community, and for music making."
In addition to being an accomplished conductor, Scott Williamson is also a sought-after tenor. As the winner of the Center for Contemporary Opera’s competition, Williamson was featured in a solo recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2007. He has appeared with Tulsa Opera, Sarasota Opera, Lake George Opera, Bronx Opera, Opera Roanoke, and in Britain with the New Kent Opera Festival, the Snape Proms, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. In concert, he has sung with the American Symphony Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, Folger Consort, Hartford Symphony, Maryland Symphony, Saint Thomas Church (NY), The National Chorale, and the Orchestra of the 17th century. 2008 marks his fourth appearance at the acclaimed Bard Music Festival. Stage credits include the title character in Gounod’s Faust, Alfredo in La Traviata, Iro in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, Agenore in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore, Armand in Massenet’s Thérèse, Handel’s Acis, and the Magician in Menotti’s The Consul. Concert appearances have included Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, all three Bach Evangelists, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Saint Nicolas, and the War Requiem. Williamson’s performances have been praised by the New York Times, the Times of London, Opera News, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun. As a professional ensemble singer, he regularly appears with New York’s premiere choruses under the batons of such distinguished conductors as Levine, Maazel, Masur, Salonen, Hickox, Rilling, Botstein and Sawallisch.
A devotee of new music, Williamson was Artist-in-Residence at the 2001 Contemporary American Theater Festival. He has sung and conducted premieres of works by Robert Convery, Adolphus Hailstork, Lee Hoiby, Morten Lauridsen, Mark McCoy, Kirke Mechem, Arvo Pärt, Amy Scurria, and Terry Vosbein. He holds degrees from James Madison University and Westminster Choir College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Maryland.
