Allan R. Scott

Now in his twenty-fourth season as Music Director of Pennsylvania’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony, Philadelphia native Maestro Allan R. Scott is praised as “one of the most dynamic figures in symphonic music and opera,” widely recognized for his outstanding musicianship, versatility, and ability to elicit top-notch performances from musicians.

Dividing his time between residences in Philadelphia and Helena, Montana, Maestro Scott is also in his twenty-third season as Music Director of the Helena Symphony Orchestra & Chorale. SYMPHONY Magazine praised his “large orchestra view,” noting that “under Scott’s leadership the quality of the orchestra’s playing has skyrocketed.” He has been instrumental in growing the organization’s budget to $1.5 million and reducing the average age of concertgoers from 67 to 48–52. He created the nationally noted Symphony Under the Stars, which attracts over 18,000 people from more than twenty states. In 2021, the Helena Symphony offered Maestro Scott a lifetime contract.

Maestro Scott also serves as the Artist in Residence for NPR affiliate Montana Public Radio and is in his seventeenth season as Principal Conductor of the Wilmington Ballet Company in Delaware. He has served on the faculties of West Chester University, Saint Joseph’s University, and the International Musicians Academy in Europe, where he has mentored the next generation of conductors.

Upcoming engagements include appearances with the Opera Orlando, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared with such companies as Vidin Sinfonietta, National Radio Orchestra of Romania in Bucharest, New Zealand’s Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Firelands Symphony in Cleveland, Pottstown Symphony, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, New Artists Philharmonic, Fairfax Symphony, and others.

Having studying piano since the age of five and his conducting studies at the age of fifteen, Maestro Scott developed his artistry under the guidance of some of the most prolific conductors of our time including Seiji Ozawa and Charles Dutoit. He further refined his craft with Luis Biava, Zdenék Macal, Sir David Willcocks, and Jorge Mester at renowned institutions, among them the Tanglewood Music Center, California Conducting Institute, The Keene Music Festival, Ogontz Music Festival, and the Conducting Institute of South Carolina.

Artist courtesy of Athlone Artists.