Scott Gendel

Gendel attended Bard College from 1995-1999, where he studied composition with Joan Tower and Daron Hagen. He then received his MM and DMA degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied vocal coaching & piano with Martha Fischer, and composition with Stephen Dembski.[1]

His art songs first achieved national attention with his song cycle "Forgotten Light", which won First Prize in the inaugural ASCAP / Lotte Lehmann Foundation Art Song Composition Competition,[2] as well as having selected songs recorded by soprano Julia Faulkner and pianist Martha Fischer for Naxos Records’ “Between The Bliss And Me.” [3] More recently, Gendel’s song “At Last” was recorded by soprano Camille Zamora and cellist Yo-Yo Ma for “An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope.” [4] Opera News called Gendel’s song on that recording “luminous, transcendently lyrical.” [5]

Gendel’s art song output is now published by Classical Vocal Reprints,[6] and those songs receive frequent performances. His cycle “I’m Afraid It’s You” won second prize in the 2015 NATS Art Song Composition Competition.[7] Writing in NewMusicBox, Daron Hagen said “Scott Gendel's art songs combine superb craftsmanship, a sophisticated and well-honed sense of prosody, texts of excellent literary quality, and a sure heart.” [8]

Other notable works of Gendel’s include the choral/orchestral cantata “All Souls” for All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington D.C.,[9] the musical theatre piece “Unearthed” written with poet/playwright Nick Lantz for Endstation Theatre,[10] the oratorio “Barbara Allen” which combines Appalachian folk song with orchestral concert music,[11] and the opera for young audiences “Super Storm,” being written in collaboration with Opera For The Young.[12]