Scott E. Woodard was born in Huntington, WV and is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra in Hamilton, Ohio, the Founding Music Director and Conductor of the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra of Charleston, WV, and the former Cover Conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Dr. Woodard serves as Director of Instrumental Music at West Virginia State University in Institute, WV, where he conducts the Orchestra and teaches the Advanced Conducting Studio. His primary teachers were Dr. Leonid Kochmar of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory of Music and the Marinsky Theatre, Dr. Oleg Proskurnya, and Dr. Paul A. Balshaw. In 2005 and 2011, Dr. Woodard conducted orchestras of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society and the Marinsky Theatre in concerts throughout the former Russian capitol.

In 2006, he was named First Prize winner of the International Conductor’s Workshop Competition and served as Guest Conductor of the Macon Symphony Orchestra in Macon, GA. In the summer of 2011, Dr. Woodard was awarded First Prize at the International Academy of Advanced Conducting in St. Petersburg and is now a full faculty member of the Academy. Having dedicated over 30 years to teaching and professional conducting, Dr. Woodard is equally comfortable with professional and student ensembles. He is currently in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras across the United States.

Dr. Woodard has worked with internationally acclaimed soloists, Cristian Fatu, Yip Wai Chow, Victoria Fatu, Anton Shelepov, Michael Riksin, and Elizabeth Pitcairn, among others. Dr. Woodard earned Bachelor and Master degrees in Music Education from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. In 2014, he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, where his dissertation explored the importance of the Leningrad School of conducting and its founder Ilya Musin. Dr. Woodard lives in Scott Depot, WV with his wife Nafi, a family physician, and their children, Gabriel, and Gabriella. More