"Teeters and his classy cast and players offered the first truly satisfying performance I’ve heard... If I ever forget what a superb programmer he's been over his 39 years of directing Boston Cecilia, remind me of this concert."

-Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix, Apr. 5, 2007. Read the review!

The Boston Cecilia announces auditions for all parts for the 2009-2010 Season. For more information or to schedule an audition, visit the auditions page.

The Boston Cecilia is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to The Boston Cecilia are fully deductible to the extent permitted by law. A copy of our most recent report to the IRS, on Form 990, is available upon request. Email us to request copy.

Scott Wheeler (born Washington DC 24 Feb. 1952) American composer and conductor. He studied at Amherst College, the New England Conservatory and Brandeis University (PhD 1984); his principal teachers included Arthur Berger, Lewis Spratlan and Malcolm Peyton. He pursued further study at the Tanglewood Music Center (with Olivier Messiaen), the Dartington School (with Peter Maxwell Davies) and privately with Virgil Thomson. In 1975 he co-founded Dinosaur Annex, a chamber ensemble devoted to the performance of contemporary music; he became the group's sole artistic director in 1982. The ensemble has given the US premières of works by composers such as Davies, Judith Weir, Philip Grange, Poul Ruders and Anthony Powers. In 1989 Wheeler joined the music department at Emerson College, Boston, where he has also worked as a music director in the theatre department. His honours include a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1988-89), a fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1994) and the Stoeger Award from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (1999).

"Wheeler's compositions remain tonally grounded, although polychordal harmonies and elements of modified serialism often run through his works. His writing is also characterized by strong rhythms and lucid texturees. His vocal works are distinguished by clear, natural text settings, refined expressivity and wit. The dramatic cantata The Construction of Boston (1988) reveals a sure theatrical sensibility." (Anthony Tommasini -- from Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2000)

Scott Wheeler's music has been commissioned and performed by the orchestras of Minnesota, Houston, Toledo and Indianapolis, as well as by New York City Opera, soprano Renée Fleming, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, and the Newport Music Festival. His opera Democracy: An American Comedy, on a libretto of Romulus Linney, was commissioned by the Washington National Opera and premiered by them in January of 2005. A CD of Scott Wheeler’s works featuring the Gramercy Trio and friends is a recent release on the Newport Classic label.

Wheeler's awards and commissions include the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fromm Foundation, Tanglewood, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Artist Foundation, Yaddo, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the MacDowell Colony, as well as the Stoeger Prize for excellence in chamber music from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His work can be heard on GM Recordings, Northeastern Records, Palexa and Koch International. Scott Wheeler has taught at New England Conservatory, Brandeis University, and Emerson College in Boston, where he is Artistic Director of Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble. As a conductor, Wheeler has premiered over a hundred new works, as well as the Boston premieres of works by Poul Ruders, Scott Lindroth, Judith Weir, Peter Maxwell Davies, Philip Grange: his conducted recordings of recent works appear on the CRI, Capstone and Newport Classic labels. Naxos will release a recording by The Boston Cecilia of Wheeler's The Construction of Boston in 2008.

The libretto, as well as the program notes, from The Boston Cecilia's performance of Wheeler's The Construction of Boston in April 2007 are available here.

Visit Scott Wheeler's website.