Meet the Director

Beginning with the Fall 2004 season, The Back Bay Chorale Board of Directors appointed Scott Allen Jarrett its fifth Artistic Director. In May of 2004, Mr. Jarrett was guest conductor the Chorale’s 30th anniversary concert performance of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus. The performance garnered critical acclaim from the Boston Globe: “Judas Maccabaeus was a great success, and Jarrett established himself as the most promising young figure to emerge on the local choral scene… This was Jarrett’s night – he’s tasteful and talented, someone to keep our eyes and ears on.” The current season features performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers (1610) and St Matthew Passion of Bach.  

A native of Virginia, Jarrett came to Boston to pursue graduate degrees in conducting at Boston University, where he is currently a doctoral candidate completing a dissertation on the choral music of Robert Schumann. Jarrett serves as Director of Music, Chapel Organist and Choirmaster at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. Also at BU, his appointment includes adjunct faculty posts in both the School of Theology as a Lecturer in the Practice of Sacred Music and in the College of Fine Arts as Teaching Associate in Choral Conducting. Recent seasons of Music at Marsh Chapel have included Bach’s Magnificat and Johannes Passion, Handel’s Saul, Faure Requiem, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor.

In the fall of 2004, Jarrett was named Music Director and Conductor of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, the resident chorus of the Charlotte Symphony in North Carolina. This season Jarrett will lead the chorus and orchestra in performances of Brahms’ Schicksalslied, Schumann’s Nachtlied, Messiah, Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard, Mozart Violin Concerto No 4, and a set of Brahms Hungarian Dances. Each year, Jarrett leads the Oratorio Singers Chambers Chorus in performance at the annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival

For eight summers, Jarrett served as the Assistant Conductor of Choirs at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute where he assisted Dr. Ann Howard Jones. Also at Tanglewood, Jarrett taught advanced music theory and history to the students in the Young Artist Vocal Program. In August each year, Jarrett serves as Resident Conductor for New Hampshire’s White Mountain Musical Arts Bach Festival, leading the festival’s orchestra and chorus in performances of the great orchestral and choral masterworks of Bach.

As a pianist, Jarrett frequently serves as rehearsal pianist and assistant for Ann Howard Jones. He also accompanied rehearsals for the late Robert Shaw during his Boston visits. As the rehearsal pianist for the Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop, Jarrett played rehearsals for Charles Dutoit. As a baritone, Jarrett has been a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, the Boston Bach Ensemble, and Schola Cantorum of Boston.