omposer Scott Ethier is being recognized as an exciting new voice whose music has been called "dazzling...bright, lilting, and rhythmically appealing" (Melrose Free Press). Drawing from his diverse background, Ethier combines rhythmic intensity of jazz with the rich heritage of the classical tradition to create a music full of color, drive, and appeal.

His music music has been commissioned and performed by such groups as the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Anne Symphony Orchestra, the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, The Greater Marlborough Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Conservatory Orchestra, and by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

He been awarded fellowships by the American Composers Forum, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and was named a Jonathan Larson Musical Theatre Fellow by the Dramatists Guild.

Ethier’s short musical Man Near the Moon was staged as part of Dreams this Way: The Best of Raw Impressions Musical Theatre at TADA Theatre Space and the New York Music Theatre Festival. He wrote incidental music for Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (Williamstown Theatre Festival) and several of his short musicals have been produced by Raw Impressions, Inc. at La Mama E.T.C. and HERE. He is currently at work on The Third Miracle (book by Richard Vetere, lyrics by Jeff Hughes) and a commission from TheatreworksUSA for a new musical about the life of Rosa Parks (book by Brian Tucker, lyrics by Jeff Hughes).

Ethier was named the composer-in-residence of the Macon (GA) Symphony Orchestra for its 2002-03 season. In February of 2003, the Macon Symphony and conductor Adrian Gnam premiered his piece Spirit Jug as part of the American Composers Forum’s Continental Harmony program. In May 2004, Ethier premiered his songs on the poems of John Hodgen at Carnegie Hall.

His scores for film include the short film Pie Chi (Showtime Cable Network), and the movie musical short ‘Til Birth Do Us Part (NYMF) written with Rob Kutner (The Daily Show) and Sheryl Zohn. His recent dance projects include a score for Breathing Water, Breathing Eye premiered by Martita Goshen’s Earthworks at the Danspace Project in September 2005.

Ethier is also active as a pianist, arranger, music director, and conductor. In September 2004, Ethier conducted a multi-media performance of Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King with tenor Paul Houghtaling, which was noted for its adventurousness in an article by New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini. Among his other credits, he has served as a music director or accompanist for the York Theatre Developmental Reading Series, Mark Morris Dance Group, CAP 21 Monday Night Reading Series, Forestburgh Playhouse, Raw Impressions, Inc., the Elaine Kaufmann Cultural Center, and St. Bart’s Players among others.

Scott has written on music and theatre for the magazine Humanities and taught at Berklee College of Music, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, and Marymount Manhattan College. He is currently a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, the Dramatists Guild, and the American Music Center.

While still a teenager, Ethier became a protégé of jazz legend Jackie McLean and studied under South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta. He later studied composition with Larry Bell, Richard Danielpour, and David del Tredici.