London Marathon success

Scott ran the London Marathon on Sunday 25 April, raising £1750 for the Children's Society, who work with disadvantaged and troubled young people. Stranded in Geneva the previous week due to the volcanic ash cloud, he made it back to London on Saturday night just in time to run on Sunday. Many thanks for all who supported him in this worthy cause!

Further performances of Weill's Street Scene

Weill's eclectic opera, conducted by Scott in a new production at Opera de Toulon, France in March, was a huge success, selling out its performances and receiving rave reviews. Scott was particularly singled out for energy and his command of Weill's score. Due the success of this new production and the demand for tickets, it will be revived in Toulon next season, on 29 and 31 December 2010.

Scott featured in London Philharmonic Orchestra podcast

Scott is featured in the LPO's December 2009 podcast in an extended interview with Edward Seckerson. Inspired by the success of the LPO's innovative Renga ensemble, which Scott directs, the interview focuses on collaborations between classical music and other genres, and on his ability to work in many styles of music including classical, jazz, world, and popular. Click here to listen.

Lady in the Dark nominated for Moliere Award

The 2008-2009 French production of Kurt Weill's Lady in the Dark, directed by Jean Lacornerie and with music direction by Scott, was nominated for best musical in the 2009 Molière Awards, France's equivalent to the US Tony Awards and British Olivier Awards. This new touring production, presented in collaboration with Lyon Opera, Opera de Rennes, Dijon Opera and the Orchestra Pays Savoie, was the only nomination from outside Paris. The show received rave reviews and every performance in the entire tour was sold out.

New Stroman recordings out soon

Scott will release two new recordings in late 2009. The Stroman/Jönsson Project, with Scott on vocals and Swedish saxophonist Cennet Jönsson, Hungarian violinist Zoltan Lantos, Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle, and English guitarist Justin Quinn and drummer Paul Clarvis, recorded Project Two in Sweden and England last October. It will be released on the Swedish Kopasetic label in December.

In June, Scott assembled Eclectic Voices, Highbury Young Singers, the Hatfield Chamber Choir, and a fantastic band at Abbey Road Studios to record his song-cycles Songs of Life and Liberty, commissioned for a major charity event in Geneva's Victoria Hall in March 2008, and Shakespeare Songs, commmissioned by Lord and Lady Salisbury to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth I in November 2008. The resulting CD recording will be mixed and out in November.

Three Choirs Festival commission

Scott's major composition for this season is a new song-cycle, Jazz Psalms, commissioned for Three Choirs Plus, the final concert of the 2010 Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester Cathedral on 15 August 2010. It will be performed by a specially-assembled massed choir with an 9-piece ensemble. Scott will conduct, and the programme will also include his Gospel Suite, commissioned by "20,000 Voices" and premiered at the Sage in Gateshead in 2007.

Further collaborations in India

As part of a Festival of International Understanding, Scott was invited to sing as part of an international band assembled by percussionist T.A.S. Mani and singer Ramamani with Karthik Ramesh, percussion, Zolton Lantos, violin, Ronan Guilfoyle, bass, Ramesh Shotham, percussion, Aly Keita, balafon, and Mike Herting, piano in a series of concerts in India in December 2008.

"A magical sound", "Scintillating", "More shows like this for a mainstream Bangalore audience might be a good idea." The Hindu (Indian national newspaper).

As a result of the success of the collaboration, Scott invited the core quartet, known as Karnatica College of Percussion (KCP) to work with the London Philharmonic Orchestra's Renga Ensemble, which he directs, in London in April 2009. The success of this further collaboration has led to an LPO-promoted tour for KCP with Renga to India in April 2010.

London Jazz Orchestra Monthly Residency at The Vortex

THE LJO VORTEX SESSIONS

The London Jazz Orchestra will continue its residency at the Vortex on the third Sunday of every month beginning with a special London Jazz Festival performance on 15 November from 2-4 PM; in future months, the performances will be from 4-6 PM. Each of these sessions will be recorded to document the LJO's unique library of original music and to compile archive material for later release.

Directed by Scott Stroman, the LJO is a unique collection of top London jazz soloists and composers including Pete Saberton, Phil Lee, Alec Dankworth, Paul Clarvis, Martin Speake, Martin Hathaway, Pete Hurt, Mick Foster, Noel Langley, Henry Lowther, Jeremy Price, and Sarah Williams. Over the years the LJO has seen countless musicians pass through its ranks, many who have made a lasting and influential impact on British jazz, including Stan Sulzmann, Kenny Wheeler, Tim Garland, Steve Buckley, Ian Carr, Ashley Slater and Chris Biscoe.

In addition to creating its own individual sound the band has performed and recorded with Billy Cobham, David Liebman, Rufus Reid, US trumpeter Ed Sareth, Swedish saxophonist Cennet Jönsson and many more.

“This ensemble…is as fine a big band as you'll find anywhere in Britain!” – Sholto Byrnes, The Independent.

Scott runs for Children and the Arts

Scott ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise funds for the Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts on Sunday 11 October 2009. Many thanks to those who sponsored him! Next, the London Marathon in April 2010...

Scott continues Kurt Weill success in France

Following on from Scott's work in France as music director of Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus in 2006/7 and Lady in the Dark in 2008, he toured with Lady in France from January to March 2009, and will direct a new production of Weill's Street Scene at Opera de Toulon in March 2010. Lady's performances in Lyon and on tour in Paris and around France were completely sold out.

Jubilee Suite for orchestra premiered in Grimsby

Scott's new Jubilee Suite, commissioned by the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Youth Orchestra for their 50th anniversary, was performed under his direction by over 150 young, mature, student, and professional performers on 27 June 2009 at the Auditorium, Grimsby. The four pieces, Lincolnshire Lines, Fair and Young, My New Ship, and Sieze the Day, were written to allow performers of all ages and abilities to perform alongside each other. It also allowed orchestral and jazz musicians to work together.

Songs of Life and Liberty premiered in Geneva

Scott's new song cycle for choir, orchestra, and jazz emsemble, Songs of Life and Liberty, was a great success for its commissioners and 500 participants, selling out its March 2008 premiere performance at the Victoria Hall in Geneva with an audience of nearly 1500 people. The event, produced by the Friends of the International School of Geneva (FOTIS), raised several hundred thousand francs to support the education of students in Africa.

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