WILLIAM FRED SCOTT, Conductor
William Fred Scott is Artistic Director of the Atlanta Opera, which under his direction has seen growth unprece dented by opera companies in Atlanta. Frequently sought as a speaker and authority on vocal performance, he has served the Atlanta musical community for more than a decade and a half and has worked extensively throughout the city, including writing for Atlanta magazine and The A t lanta Journal-Constitution and regular conducting of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. After being graduated cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Mr. Scott joined the Opera Company of Boston, where he served as associate conductor, artistic ad ministrator, principal coach and chorus master. He made an unexpected conducting debut at age 22 when he stepped in on short notice for Sarah Caldwell to conduct Beverly Sills and Tatiana Troyanos in The Capulets and the Montagues. During his six years with the company, he led almost 200 performances of its touring arm, Opera New England. Selected by Robert Shaw, Mr. Scott served as Assistant and Associate Conduc tor of the Atlanta Symphony from 1981 to 1988, leading numerous concerts in Sym phony Hall, at summer venues and on tour. In 1990 he conducted the ASO in the American premiere of The Canyon by Philip Glass. He originated the orchestra’s popular Champagne and Coffee Concerts twelve years ago and has been the princi pal conductor of the series ever since. Mr. Scott has supervised and conducted numerous successful opera produc tions, including such rarely seen works as Regina by Blitzstein, The Voyage to the Moon by Offenbach, War and Peace by Prokofiev, and The Fisherman and His Wife by Schuller. During the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival, he conducted a concert perfor mance of G ershw in’s O f Thee I Sing and an “International Opera Gala.” In 1994 he made his debut as a stage director in a production of John G ay’s Beggar’s Opera with the Theatrical Outfit, and last season he directed Shakespeare’s M acbeth for the University of West Georgia Theatre Company. Recent conducting appearances in clude productions of The Postman Always Rings Twice by Stephen Paulus in Boston, La boheme with Michigan Opera Theatre, Don Giovanni with Opera Carolina in Charlotte, Madama Butterfly in Mobile, and Der Rosenkavalier with the Opera Company of Boston. He has conducted coast-to-coast performances of The Barber o f Seville for New York City Opera and Falstaff, Madama Butterfly and The Vampyre by Marschner at Wolf Trap Farm Park. He has also appeared as guest conductor of Boston’s Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra.
About our Corporate Sponsor “SunTrust Bank is pleased to be sponsoring the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Champagne and Coffee Concert Series. For more than a century our company has served the financial needs of the people of the Atlanta area, and the arts have always played an integral role in the success of the communities we serve. With more than 100 offices throughout the metropolitan area, SunTrust is proud to call Atlanta our home.” 20