Wyatt, Scott (1951 -) | University of Illinois Archives

Scott Wyatt (b. 1951) studied Music Education and Piano Performance at West Chester University in Pennsylvania in 1970 where he also studied music composition  with Larry A. Nelson and John Melby. After graduating with his bachelors degree, Wyatt continued his studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1974, where he studied composition with John Melby, Herbert Brun, Ben Johnston, Salvatore Martirano, and Paul Martin Zonn. In 1975 Wyatt was hired as composition faculty lecturer and co-director of the Experimental Music Studios with James Beauchamp. In 1976, he was awarded a tenure track faculty position and became the director of the Experimental Music Studios. He retained that title until 2016, when he retired from the University of Illinois.

Wyatt composes music for a variety of ensembles and genres including works for theatre, voice, acoustic instruments, electroacoustic music, and music for dance, documentary film, radio, television, and laser shows. Wyatt has won several awards for composition including: the 1978 International Society for Contemporary Music National Composers Competition, the 1979 National Flute Composition Competition, the 1979 Concorso Internazionale Luigi Russolo Composition Competition, and the 1984 International Confederation of Electro-Acoustic Music Grand Prize at the International Electro-Acoustic Music Competition in Bourges, France. In 1985 he was awared the University of Illinois University Scholar Awared as part of the University's first class of University Scholars to acknowledge nationally and internationally recognized achievement and distinction as a faculty member of the university. In addition, Wyatt has received several awards for his teaching and research including: the 1990 Arnold Beckman Research Award for the development of digital timescaling applications, numerous grants between 1996 and 2011 for live performance methodology for eight-channel sound diffusion and sound spatialization, a 1991 Illinois Arts Council Award, a 1994 Educational Technologies assistance grant for course development, a 1997 College of Fine and Applied Arts Outstanding Faculty Award, a 1998 appointment as an Associate in the UIUC Center for Advanced Study, and a 2008 Fine and Applied Arts Creative Research Award for the collaborative composition for electroacoustic music with live continuum performance and two giant 900,000 volt Tesla coils, titled "Risky Business: a Tribute to Nikola Tesla." Among other compositions, Wyatt was commissioned in 1989 by the Champaign-Urbana Symphony to create "Time Pinnacle" for Orchestra, electroacoustic music, visual projections, and lasers for the Beckman Institute dedication. In addition, in 1995, he was commissioned by the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to create an opening compositions (for 6 choral octetes, percussion, conductor, and 8-channel electroacoustic music involving 600 lighting cues), title "Visions in Time" for the KCPA 25th Anniversary Gala Commemoration.

Wyatt is also known for his development and application of positional three-dimensional audio imaging and spatialized audio recording techniques designed for discrete 8-channel performance. His compositions are recorded on Capstone, Centaur, GMEB Cultures Electroniques Series, Library of Congress, MARK, OFFICE, Music from SAMUS, UBRES, and VERIATZA recordings.