An Interview with Scott Watson

Scott Watson is a Philadelphia-area composer, conductor, and educator whose music spans everything from playful wind ensemble works to a full silent film score for a 1921 Buster Keaton comedy. A self-described educator first and composer second, he has been publishing with Alfred Music for about 20 years. He brings decades of experience as a band director to every note he writes.

Q: How did you first discover your passion for composing?

Composing and arranging for my high school and college ensembles.

Q: Who has shaped how you think about music?

Great teachers: including (among others) my high school band director, Bob Dreisbaugh, my undergrad trumpet teacher, Ken Laudermilch, and my composition teacher in grad school, Maurice Wright.

Q: What was the first piece you wrote that made you think, "I might actually be onto something here"?

A wind ensemble piece entitled Before the Fall that my undergrad wind ensemble professor was gracious enough to program. It's never been published (for good reason!), but I did learn a lot from the experience, and it did give me LOTS to think about.

What's the hardest creative problem you've ever had to solve in your work, Q: and how did you get through it?

Some projects are just bigger in scope, with more "moving parts," and those take a lot of organization, patience, problem-solving, and tenacity. One example would be my silent film score for the 1921 Buster Keaton slapstick comedy, THE GOAT. It's 25 minutes of music, in 7 distinct scenes, that needed to (at once) sound fresh and contemporary but also allude to a time gone by.

Q: How has your compositional voice changed over the years? Is there anything you used to believe about writing music that you've since changed your mind on?

Like many composers, my early works were derivative of composers I admired. Later, more recent works synthesize those influences into a more personal voice - informed by, but not imitative of - that music.

Q: Do you have a favorite piece on Alfred.com? What was the spark behind it?

AESOP'S FABLES, for wind ensemble with narrator, was my first university commission and for my undergrad alma mater, West Chester University (Pennsylvania). The text I used was a retelling by Margaret Clark of Aesop's moral tales. My wife and I had read the stories from Clark's book to our children at bedtime when they were young. The music is like a playful, contemporary film score to well-known stories such as "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

Q: Where are you based, and how does your environment influence your work?

I live and work in the Philadelphia area. During the summer months, HOWEVER, you can often find my family and me at the New Jersey shore, where my parents live!

Q: How do you spend most of your working hours?

Teaching, composing/arranging, and conducting.

Q: Where did you study, and how much of what you do today traces back to your formal training versus what you figured out on your own?

West Chester University (BS Music Ed) and Temple University (MM and DMA, Composition). Both institutions - or, more correctly, some special educators at both institutions - left an indelible mark on me. Nonetheless, decades of in-service teaching and work as a composer/arranger have added MUCH to that solid foundation.

Q: Did you grow up in a musical household, or did music find you some other way?

My parents weren't musical (though they love music), but my grandfather (on my mother's side) - who by day was a tailor in a factory in Philadelphia - played jazz guitar, took me to live music events as a kid, and introduced me to some interesting, musical friends.

Q: How long have you been publishing with Alfred, and how did that relationship start?

About 20 years now! It started when I brought John O'Reilly (then Alfred's Concert Band Editor) to my school district to do some PD training with our K-12 instrumental staff on his Accent On Achievement method book. We had lunch together that day and - upon finding out that I was a composer - he encouraged me to submit music to him for consideration. The rest is history!

Q: Outside of composing, is there another role in music that's been just as central to who you are?

Although I love creating music, and it is not lost on me how fortunate I am to have my music in print, I see myself FIRST as an educator and second as a composer. For that reason, I find it very fulfilling to serve as a clinician/guest conductor, usually programming one of my pieces (often at the request of the host), which combines both!

Q: How has the music education publishing world changed since you started, and how has that shaped what you write?

A huge change is the number of voices in the field. There are hundreds of talented, wonderful composers producing more and more music each year. There's also been an explosion in self-published composers and composers whose self-published music is distributed by one of the larger publishing companies. All this means that the field is far more competitive than ever. Despite all that, I don't think my approach to composing school band music has changed. I still aim to say something I find aesthetically pleasing (at any level), AND crafted in a way that is informed by my years as a band director to be level appropriate.

Q: What do you want your body of work to add up to?

Historically and statistically speaking, it's very unlikely that my music will be known and heard 50 (or even less) years from now. Rather than being concerned with trying to build a lasting legacy, I just write music that interests me, serves clients who commission me, and is useful to directors and their students. That's enough for me now; tomorrow will take care of itself!

Q: Is there a favorite piece of yours that may not be your most popular work but resonates really strongly with you?

I do have some pieces I feel are strong musical statements that, for whatever reason, never garnered the attention I thought they would. Examples include: Night Journey (a Gr. 4 piece inspired by a poem by Theodore Roethke about a midnight locomotive ride), and Thrills and Trills! (a Gr. 2 circus march), But there are others.

Browse Scott's titles on Alfred Music and bring something meaningful to your next concert.

👉 Shop Scott Watson on Alfred Music