PROFILE

A conductor of remarkable versatility and exemplary musicianship, Scott Parkman is widely recognized for his engaging style and welcoming rapport with audiences. Critically acclaimed for his interpretation of the standard repertoire, Mr. Parkman is gaining recognition for his innovative enterprise and efforts to examine and perform the hundreds of works by 20th century American classical composers - music that is generally underrepresented on today's concert programs.

Mr. Parkman is the founding Artistic and Executive Director of American Century Music (ACM) an organization dedicated to performing the works of 20th century American composers. Launched in 2010, ACM is uniquely designed to work with a wide array of musicians and institutions, presenting repertoire ranging from solo instrument to full orchestra. In its first season, ACM performed over 20 twenty works by a dozen composers from "The American Century," including Amy Beach, Charles Griffes, Walter Piston, Donald Martino, and Elliott Carter. The 2011/12 season will see the inauguration of ACM's first monthly concert series in Boston, collaborating with such ensembles and artists as the Lydian String Quartet, Claremont Trio, and violinist Curtis Macomber.

Mr. Parkman also has command over a large breadth of the traditional repertoire. During his tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (2003-2008), he led the orchestra in over 150 performances, including major works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner. He also performed works by Adams, Eisler, Reich and Rouse on the SLSO contemporary chamber music series at St. Louis's Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. As Music Director of the highly regarded Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra during the same period, Mr. Parkman performed Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with internationally-acclaimed soprano, Christine Brewer, and premiered several new compositions, including Fêtes and Fireworks by American composer Robert Pound, and his own work, Toward.

As an international guest conductor Mr. Parkman has led the New Zealand Symphony, Hong Kong New Art Camerata, and the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra. In the United States his engagements include the Minnesota Orchestra, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lubbock, and Oakland East Bay Symphonies, Oakland Ballet, and the Sacramento and Palo Alto Philharmonic Orchestras.

Mr. Parkman is active as an arts education advocate, speaking regularly with local and national officials. He was invited in 2006 to conduct a performance at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts marking the return of music studies after Hurricane Katrina. He has conducted young musicians at the Queensland Conservatorium in Australia, the Hong Kong Summer Music Festival, and has appeared with numerous festival orchestras throughout the United States.

Mr. Parkman has traveled extensively. His desire to understand the role of music and art across cultures has taken him to Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. Within Europe, Germany figures as a particularly important country to Mr. Parkman's development, having spent extended periods there in 1999 and 2002 working with Maestro Christian Thielemann at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Bayreuth. This experience solidified his strong interest in 19th century German repertoire and affinity for the music of Bruckner, Wagner, and Strauss in particular.

Born in Elgin, IL, and raised in Kilgore, TX, Mr. Parkman began studying the piano at age 7. Choosing percussion as his primary ensemble instrument, he won the Interlochen Scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. There he pursued studies in percussion with Dr. Michael Udow and Salvatore Rabbio, and conducting with Gustav Meier. Highlights from this period include two Asian tours with the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble, studies at the Pierre Monteux School, and holding the position of Resident Conductor for the Rocky Ridge Music Center. After graduating with highest honors under the auspices of the Artist and Scholar Honors Program, he continued studies in Italian language and culture in Bologna, Italy, and conducting with Michael Morgan at the San Francisco Conservatory. In 2002 Mr. Parkman was the sole Conducting Fellow at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center.

Mr. Parkman resides in Boston, Massachusetts.