About
"Be simple and profound."
"Make music visible in your hands."
- Ilya Musin
The entire universe is musical by nature. I want to make a unique and defined contribution through my talents which makes the world more artistic for its inhabitants. I want to make music visible in my hands, causing others to feel the same passion and drive for music that I feel with each breath. I want to influence all generations to be an active part of the music that is constantly around them. With each new musical experience, whether it be the study of a score or the conducting of a symphony, I evolve.
Scott E. Woodard is the music director of the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly known as the Charleston Chamber Orchestra) and the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 2022-2023 season, he is a finalist for the position of Music Director with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Woodard’s study and pursuit of conducting has taken him all over the world. Past podiums include: guest conductor of the Macon Symphony Orchestra (2006), associate conductor (2016-17) and cover conductor (2013-16) of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, finalist in the Pittsburgh Philharmonic Orchestra conductor search (2019). Future conducting opportunities include guest conducting with the Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra (2021). Woodard was named First Prize winner of the International Conductor’s Workshop Competition (2006) and First Prize at the International Academy of Advanced Conducting in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he is now a full faculty member of the Academy. Celebrated guest artists with whom Dr. Woodard has worked include Victoria Fatu, Romanian violinist Gabriel Croitoru, Israeli tenor Michael Riskin, Yip Wai Chow, and Cristian Fatu.
Dr. Woodard’s primary teachers were Dr. Leonid Korchmar of the Mariinsky Theatre and the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Dr. Oleg Proskurnya, with whom he studied the methods of the Leningrad School of Conducting developed and taught by Maestro Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1932-1999.In 2005 and 2011, Woodard conducted orchestras of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society and the Mariinsky Theatre in concerts throughout the former Russian capitol. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Conductor’s Guild and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity.
Woodard received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Music Education from Marshall University and the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University. As a teacher, Woodard’s career has spanned thirty-six years. His teaching positions included Wirt County High School, Ceredo-Kenova High School, and Winfield High School. Woodard served as the Director of Instrumental Music at Winfield High School from 1990 – 2006. The Winfield HS Band under his direction performed in master class sessions with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and was the 2005 Honor Finalist Concert Band at the WV Music Educators Conference in Morgantown, WV. He is currently the Director of Instrumental Music at West Virginia State University in Institute, WV, where he conducts the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches advanced conducting.
Woodard lives in Scott Depot, WV with his wife Nafi, who is a family practice physician, and their children, Gabriel and Gabriella. He is available for guest conducting opportunities in the US and abroad.
