Scott Macmillan - Guitar

Born in Halifax, Scott Macmillan enjoys a stellar reputation in Nova Scotia and abroad for his unusual versatility working in the fields of classical, pop, jazz, blues and celtic music.  He is equally at home on the podium in the studio or behind a guitar.  Scott is in great demand as a conductor, performer, composer/arranger and producer and currently Musician in Residences with the St. Cecilia Concert Series in NS for 07/08. Working professionally for more than 30 years he has played an integral role in widening the audience for the music of Atlantic Canada both nationally and internationally.  Acknowledged by Rita MacNeil at the 2005 ECMA Awards as an integral contributor to her success, Scott has played an equally pivotal role in the rise of the Rankin Family Band and the Nova Scotia Mass Choir.  For his contributions Scott received a Doctor of Letters from Cape University in 1997. 

Over the years Scott has received a number of creative grants to compose music from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Nova Scotia Dept of Culture & Heritage.  His 2 most recent awards ‘Within Sight of Shore’, was premiered to rave revues and musically depicts, the last Canadian warship sunk in WWII, HMSC Esquimalt, of which Scott’s father was the Commanding Officer.  The second composition, premiers July 3rd 2008 is titled the ‘Currents of Sable Island’ exploring the infamous ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’.  Previous creative grants have included composing his first Symphony SUMMUS and creating music for his 12-piece jazz ensemble, ‘Scottn’ the Rocks’, a creative collective, providing opportunities for musical expression and exploration through composition and improvisational performances.

A Canadian Choral Classic, Macmillan’s Classical/Celtic cross-over composition and collaboration with Jennyfer Brickenden ‘Celtic Mass for the Sea’ is much loved and much performed with over 60 performances.  Since it premiere with SNS in 1991, it has been performed to enthusiastic audiences at Carnegie Hall in New York, in the UK, in Germany and Switzerland a feature presentation at the 2007 International Celtic Colours Festival and most recently celebrated it’s 20th year as major work with a performance in Halifax in July 2008.

Throughout his career, Scott's creative passion has led to many exciting commissions, performances and opportunities to compose new works. As. music director Macmillan co-created “Le Grand Cercle” with writer and artistic director Paul Gallant and performed annually since 2006 and is a cornerstone of a major community/cultural/tourism initiative in Cheticamp.  The cast recording has been nominated for 2008 ECMA Francophone Recording of the Year.

An exceptional guitarist and original member of ‘The Guitar Summit’, Scott is a multiple ECMA (East Coast Music Award) winner, for his recordings with the innovative group Puirt a Baroque, “Bach Meets Cape Breton” and also for his own collaborative recordings “The Minnie Sessions Volumes 1, 2, & 3” and the “MacKinnon's Brook Suite” which he composed for Ian MacKinnon and Symphony Nova Scotia (SNS). “MacKinnon’s Brook Suite” for bagpipe and orchestra was premiered with Symphony Nova Scotia and later broadcast for National CBC TV.

Macmillan played a pivotal role in highly successful Maritime Pops Series with Symphony Nova Scotia’s (SNS). He was the inaugural Host Conductor and Arranger for this series from the mid 1980’s to 2004.  Throughout his time he built bridges, creating relationships between the classical world of SNS and the diversity of Nova Scotia's musical and cultural communities.  This most popular Maritime Pops Series resulted in numerous sold-out performances every season.  Macmillan’s unique abilities as a master guitar player had him delighting his audiences by performing with his guest artists on guitar from the podium.