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This week the Nagoya Composition Society gave the Japanese premiere of my string quartet Engine Trouble at Nishi Bunker Little Theater in Nagoya, Japan. It was selected as an example of an innovative contemporary string quartet, and was the only work on the program by a foreign, non-member composer. The concert organizers were drawn to the piece’s ability to challenge the stereotype of contemporary music as difficult and thematically heavy. You can watch a video of the performance at the link below!

Scott was recently interviewed on the student-led podcast and video series, Clexical, which aims to make contemporary music more accessible to everyone, including younger people. The conversation was wide-ranging, touching on musical inspiration, compositional process, and broader issues in the field of contemporary music. Check out the video below!

Rocket City New Music performed my three-movement sextet Liftoff for violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, and trumpet as part of their season-closing concert on December 14 in Huntsville Alabama. The concert, also titled “Liftoff,” took place in an aircraft hangar at Huntsville National Airport that had been transformed into a concert venue just for the occasion – a fitting backdrop for a piece inspired by the curving trajectories of space shuttle launches.

We spent Wednesday and Thursday at Pulp Arts Recording Studio in Gainesville, Florida recording my new song cycle Greetings from Florida: Postcards from Paradise. It features the incredible jazz singer and guitarist Camila Meza alongside a small chamber ensemble. Look out for the album to be released in late 2025 or early 2026!

Tuesday marked the World Premiere of Greetings from Florida: Postcards from Paradise, my new genre-bending song cycle exploring the theme of Florida as a perceived “utopia,” featuring jazz singer and guitarist Camila Meza alongside an ensemble of UF faculty and local performers.

A panel discussion preceded the concert featuring composer Scott Lee, poet and lyricist Carolina Hospital, singer and guitarist Camila Meza, UF musicologist Imani Mosley, and USF Florida Studies scholar Thomas Hallock.

I’m thrilled to have been chosen to receive a commission from the Barlow Endowment, based at Brigham Young University. As part of this commission, I’ll compose a 15-20 minute string sextet for the Flatirons Chamber Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado, set to premiere in Summer 2026. Titled Strata, the piece will draw inspiration from the distinct layers of geological activity visible throughout the Colorado landscape, serving as a rich metaphor for the layers of human experience and societal structure.

Florida State University composition faculty invited me to work with their student composers in a busy day of activities on April 18, 2024. I gave a composition masterclass where I provided critiques of works by four student composers, offering constructive feedback and insights. My visit also included a presentation of my own music to the students and faculty. The day culminated in a concert by FSU’s new music ensemble, Polymorphia, who performed my Split Screen for piano, keyboard, percussion, and drum set alongside eight student works. The residency served as a fruitful exchange of music and ideas, and will hopefully lead to sustained interaction between the UF and FSU composition areas.

Over the weekend of March 23rd and 24th, the Bozeman Symphony premiered my latest and most significant orchestral work, Inner Life, in two performances. As the third and final commission from the orchestra, the piece marks the culmination of my role as the BSO’s Composer in Residence. Lasting twenty-two minutes, the piece is in three continuous movements and traces a journey of self-discovery. As part of my visit, I also gave a masterclass for composition students at Montana State University and engaged in pre-concert talks for the audience with BSO music director Norman Huynh.

On January 22, ensembleNewSRQ premiered my new piece for violin and percussion, Karst, in Sarasota, Florida. Commissioned by the ensemble, this five-movement piece draws inspiration from the geology and landscapes of Florida. The premiere featured the ensemble’s artistic directors, George Nickson, Dallas Symphony principle percussionist and chair of percussion at Southern Methodist University, and Samantha Bennett, Dallas Opera Orchestra violinist.

My string quartet Engine Trouble secured a permanent spot on scorefollower.com’s YouTube channel, a popular online community for contemporary music, after being selected in the Fall 2023 Follow My Score! Competition. The recording features the inimitable JACK Quartet. See the score-following video at the link below!