About:

The music of Scott Good is driven by the potential to create beauty, emotion, and groove. With his belief in the power of art to enable cathartic events, he has worked with a tapestry of musicians, orchestras, ensembles, choreographers, actors, and artists to create intense, meaningful live performance experiences.

Good’s music is inspired by the universal themes of the human condition. – a lush oratorio The Sleepers contemplates the unity and equality of all humanity, whereas Babbitt, a raucous saxophone concerto, is inspired by a mid-life crisis. From global extinction cataclysm in his Kurt Vonnegut inspired jazz orchestra work Galapagos, to a boiling stew in his overture What the Chickpea Said to the Cook, Scott finds inspiration to create compelling works from all walks and perspectives.

As a composer Dr Good has been commissioned by orchestras across Canada including Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne, and the Esprit Orchestra. Of note are his 2hr score for the 1926 silent film The Hands of Orlac (Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony 2018) and his multimedia family concert The Caboose Who Got Loose with solo cello, narration and projections (Calgary Philharmonic 2021), and his acclaimed trumpet concerto Between the Rooms (KW Symphony 2010).

As Composer-in-Residence with the Vancouver Symphony (08-11) and London Symphonia (18-present), Good composed numerous orchestral works and orchestral arrangements. His role has developed to involve artistic direction, where he brings his conducting skills together his knowledge as a composer, arranger, to produce innovative concerts. Good’s programs focus on modern compositions and cross over hybrid music concerts. He is motivated to create concert experiences that imbue a widely inclusive atmosphere for our culturally diverse communities. Events of interest include Belonging, a concert of Arabic songs and classical Western compositions with with poet/activist Najwa Zebian and songwriter Maryem Toller; In Remembrance , combining classical music with modern and traditional songs to reflect the deep, conflicted emotions felt around the topic of war and sacrifice; and Tapestry, a collaboration with the Light of East Ensemble exploring the music of the East Mediterranean. With these modern orchestral programs Good aims to make bridges and connections revealing our common humanity through music.

Good has an extensive catalogue of chamber music compositions and has created works for ensembles such as The Gryphon Trio, I Furiosi, and the Madawaska String Quartet, and soloists including trombonist Alain Trudel, electric guitarist TIm Brady, and Harpists Sanya Eng and Elizabeth Volpe-Blythe. He has composed test pieces for the Montreal International Music Competition, the Canadian Music Competition, and written for education institutions such as the Glenn Gould School and NACO Young Artists program. Good has composed several pieces for children as part of Chamber Factory’s Listen Up! program and served as a mentor in Esprit Orchestra’s Creative Sparks high school program., as well as many other outreach programs.

Scott Good’s passion for jazz and improvised music can be heard though his compositions, and in hybrid projects with jazz artists and musicians from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Highlights include 2 major works for the Hard Rubber Jazz Orchestra, Concerto for Cello composed for Jeffrey Zeigler, and Concerto for Improvisor featuring Scott as composer, conductor, and soloist; Also notable is the concert length crossover project Conjunction with the Gryphon Trio, bassist Roberto Occhipinti and American-Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto including arrangements and original composition Wu Xing (2018).

Scott Good’s deep love for the orchestra and the classical tradition can be traced to his experience performing Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony with the North Toronto Collegiate Symphony Orchestra. Says Good “To be inside such energy and counterpoint!” Scott obtained a combined degree in Composition and Trombone Performance from the Eastman School of Music (91-95). His first work for orchestra – Rhapsody – written as an undergraduate, won the Howard Hanson Award (94), and later 1st place in the Winnipeg Symphony Composer’s Competition (95), launching his career as an orchestral composer. Scott later completed his composition training at the University of Toronto, receiving his M.mus in 98 under Ka Nin Chan, and his D.mus in 07 under Gary Kulesha.

He worked as a classical trombonist until 2008, performing with many orchestras and chamber ensembles in the south Ontario area. He was also deeply immersed in modern music, performing with such groups as New Music Concerts and Array. Scott founded EARshot concerts in 1998 and produced 11 contemporary music concerts, through Toronto’s Music Gallery. Other performances include the premiere of R.M. Schafer’s puppet opera The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix, and touring with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal (ECM+) across Canada as soloist in his own modernist rock infused work Shock Therapy Variations. Since 2008, his trombone playing has centred on jazz and improvised music.

Scott lives in London Ontario with his wife Jennifer Schofield and two children Alex and Nick.