Scott Wollschleger (b. 1980) is a composer who grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. His music has been highly praised for its arresting timbres and conceptual originality. Wollschleger “has become a formidable, individual presence” in the contemporary musical landscape (The Rest Is Noise, Alex Ross), and his most recent piano work was praised as a “small masterpiece” (The New York Times, Seth Colter Walls). His distinct musical language explores themes of art in dystopia, the conceptualization of silence, synesthesia, and creative repetition in form; a musical blend that jazz pianist and blogger Ethan Iverson describes as “Morton Feldman meets Thelonious Monk meets H.P. Lovecraft.”
Wollschleger’s concert works can be heard in the United States and abroad. Notable commissions and premieres include those from Adam Tendler, Miranda Cuckson, Isaac Shieh, Karl Larson, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Bearthoven, William Lang, Leileihua Lanzilotti, Du.0, and loadbang. His debut album, Soft Aberration, was released on New Focus Recordings and was named a 2017 Notable Recording in The New Yorker. His second album, American Dream, written for the trio Bearthoven, was released on Cantaloupe Music in 2019. His third album, Dark Days, and his work on The String Orchestra of Brooklyn’s most recent album, enfolding, were released on New Focus Recordings in 2021 and 2022.
Upcoming and recent projects include commissions from, Adam Tendler, Miranda Cuckson, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, William Lang and Anne Rainwater, Du.0, loadbang, Michael Jones, and Issac Shieh. His debut album, Soft Aberration, was released on New Focus Recordings in 2017 and was named a Notable Recording of 2017 in The New Yorker. His second album, American Dream, written for Bearthoven, was released on Cantaloupe Music in 2019. His third album, Dark Days, was released on New Focus Recordings in 2021 and his most recent album, Enfolding, was released on New Focus Recordings in 2022.
Following lightly in the footsteps of the New York School, Wollschleger received his Masters of Music in composition from Manhattan School of Music in 2005, where he studied with Morton Feldman’s protegé Nils Vigeland. For 10 years Wollschleger was a Co-Artistic Director of Red Light New Music, a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to presenting and crafting contemporary music. In addition to his musical ideas, Mr. Wollschleger frequently delves into the philosophical writings of Deleuze, Nietzsche, and Brecht, and maintains an ongoing collaboration with Deleuzian scholar Corry Shores. Their co-authored thesis, Rhythm Without Time, was presented at the London Graduate School’s academic conference, “Rhythm and Event.” Wollschleger is published by Project Schott New York
© 2023
photo by Emily Bookwalter © 2016
Contact
Scott Wollschleger on Twitter and on YouTube
scott.wollschleger(at)gmail.com