Of Good and Evil - OB/PN

by Jeff Scott - American composer and french hornist

from the composer:

I’m drawn to the subject of good versus evil. Goddesses and demons, angels, and devils – I find it all fascinating and great source material for composing. In Of Good and Evil, the piano introduces the Devil’s motif in the opening bars of the first movement. Sweetly determined, the oboe dances with the darker angels, fighting to stay in the light, but temptation is always present – menacing, taunting, seducing, raging….Of Good and Evil was commissioned by Toyin Spellman-Diaz, and it affords me the opportunity to showcase an artist’s unique gifts.

JEFF SCOTT

Jeff Scott, a native of Queens, NY, started the French horn at age 14, receiving an anonymous gift scholarship to go to the Brooklyn College Preparatory Division. An even greater gift came from his first teacher, Carolyn Clark, who taught the young Mr. Scott for free during his high school years, giving him the opportunity to study music when resources were not available. Mr. Scott continued his studies at Manhattan School of Music and SUNY Stony Brook, studying horn performance with David Jolley and William Purvis as well as Scott Brubaker and Jerome Ashby.

Mr. Scott’s performance credits are many and varied. They include The Lion Kingorchestra (on Broadway, New York) 1997-2005, and the 1994 revival of Showboat 1994-1997. He has performed numerous times under the direction of Wynton Marsalis with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Mr. Scott was a founding member and French hornist of the internationally acclaimed wind quintet Imani Winds from 1997-2020 and is a prolific composer/arranger. Jeff Scott served as an adjunct professor of Horn at Montclair State University for 18 years and was appointed as Associate Professor of Horn at Oberlin College in 2020​.

For a YouTube performance of this by Toyin Spellman-Diaz, click here.