Scott Ordway is a composer and multimedia artist from Northern California working with sound, image, text, and place.
Choral, chamber, and orchestral works—preview, listen, and request performance materials.
Interdisciplinary work with music, image, text, and landscape.
Stream selected works and recordings.
“Exquisite.” — New York Times
“Soul-stirring music.” — BBC Music Magazine
“Arresting originality.” — Grammophone
“A marvel.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“An American response to Sibelius.” — Boston Globe
“Haunting and beautiful multimedia work.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“This music is not to be ignored.” — American Record Guide
Scott Ordway is an American composer and interdisciplinary artist whose music has been performed by leading orchestras, ensembles, and soloists across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. His work has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, and major festivals worldwide, and has been praised as “exquisite” (New York Times) and “soul-stirring” (BBC Music). Raised in Northern California and shaped by the emotional intensity of post-hardcore underground rock music, Ordway brings a distinctly personal sensibility to contemporary classical music. Rooted in tradition but radically open in form and tone, his recent work blends music, photography, video, and original text in a shift toward personal narrative, spiritual depth, and environmental themes. He is Associate Professor and Head of Composition at Rutgers University and a voting member of the Recording Academy.
[full bio]
2025 / 2026 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
June 2025
LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTERS
new work for cello, piano, and narrator
commissioned by Josh Halpern and the Cultural Caravan
August 2025
EVERYTHING IS ALIVE
new work for Anyango Yarbo-Davenport
Teatro Mayor, Bogotá
October 2025
NORTH WOODS
new recording by the Lorelei Ensemble
release performance at Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
March 2026
SQUARES
a new dance work commissioned by BalletX
amplified voices and live analogue synthesizers
May 2026
CALIFORNIA SONGBOOK
new song cycle for Stanford University
May 2026
IN COMMON
new choral work for Harvard University Collegium Musicum
commissioned by Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
June 2026
THE ARCHITECTURE OF TREES
new work for Maya Fridman
Oranjewoud Festival, Netherlands
