Scott Ordway

Scott Ordway (b. 1984, California) is an American composer and multimedia artist whose work spans music, text, video, and photography. Described as “exquisite” (New York Times), “hypnotic” (BBC), and “a marvel” (Philadelphia Inquirer), his compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Park Avenue Armory, Hong Kong City Hall Theater, and at major international festivals including the Beijing Modern, Aspen, Bang on a Can, and Hong Kong Arts Festivals.

Ordway’s work draws deeply from literature, philosophy, and the humanities. Integrating his own poetry, video, and photography, he explores themes of ecology, spirituality, and the landscape of the American West. Recent projects include The End of Rain, a multimedia symphony for Roomful of Teeth and the Cabrillo Festival; The Outer Edge of Youth, a choral opera for The Thirteen; The Clearing and the Forest, an evening-length music theater work for SOLI Chamber Ensemble; and Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello, composed for GRAMMY-winning cellist Arlen Hlusko.

His music has been performed by the Hong Kong, Buffalo, Tucson, and Colorado Springs Philharmonics, and by ensembles including Lorelei, Roomful of Teeth, The Thirteen, and the Jasper, Momenta, and Daedalus String Quartets. Collaborating artists include Sasha Cooke, Emily Marvosh, Sonja Tengblad, and Anyango Yarbo-Davenport. Ordway has released four critically acclaimed solo albums on Acis, with additional recordings on Naxos, Bright Shiny Things, and TRPTK. In 2025, he will release two new choral recordings: North Woods with Lorelei Ensemble, and Three Kalevala Songs with the Rutgers University Kirkpatrick Choir.

Also active as a librettist, director, video artist, and photographer, Ordway has exhibited solo photography shows in Frankfurt and Boston. His work has been recognized with awards and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, NewMusicUSA, ASCAP, American Opera Projects, and the American Composers Forum, among others. He has held residencies at Copland House, Cabrillo Festival, Visby International Centre for Composers (Sweden), Willapa Bay AiR, Hambidge Center, and Haverford College’s Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities.

Ordway studied at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Oregon, and University of Puget Sound, as well as the Freie Universität Berlin and Accademia Chigiana. His mentors include Samuel Adler, Azio Corghi, James Primosch, and Veljo Tormis. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Music and Head of Composition at Rutgers University, and lives in Philadelphia, where he previously taught at the Curtis Institute of Music.

For new commissions, performance inquiries, curatorial opportunities and appearances please contact Owen Summers: owen@summersartistservices.com

Works

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Watch

The Clearing and the Forest (Trailer)

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North Woods for SSAA Choir

Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello (No. 5)

Reflections on “Expanse of My Soul”