 "Photo: Courtesy of Scott Stein")
Ohio State senior Scott Stein listened to Beethoven's "Emperor Concerto" as a child, so it should come as no shock that music is an integral part of his future. Stein is a jazz pianist who is majoring in music composition and striving toward his goal as a songwriter.
Born and raised in Akron, Stein was surrounded by music his entire life. Both parents played piano and his mother sang in their synagogue's choir. His father was a cantor, a religious official who leads the musical part of the service.
It was only natural that Stein would develop a musical interest, and he began taking piano lessons at age four.
"My favorite toy was this toy piano that I'd bang on all the time, so my parents asked me if I would like to learn to play and I told them, 'I already do.'"
When he was 11 years old, Stein began training as a jazz pianist after hearing a rendition of Bill Evans' "Turn out the Stars." From there he played in the Copley High School Jazz Band for four years and was the pianist in the Ohio State Jazz Ensemble for two years. His junior year he won first place in the Akron Scholastic Composers Contest and then second place as a senior. After graduation, he came to OSU with plans of being a double major in engineering and music.
"The thing is, I originally planned to just major in engineering but was convinced to do music as well," Stein said. "After three years of juggling both, I decided to drop engineering and concentrate on music composition."
He seems to have made a good choice as he has won numerous awards during his collegiate career. Stein is the recipient of the Ohio State Busch Memorial Scholarship for piano and the Battenberg Jazz Scholarship. In the spring of 2005, he was the co-recipient of the Ruth Friscoe Prize in Jazz Composition for the original big band score, "Thievery" as well as being awarded with the OSU School of Music's Outstanding Senior award in the field of Theory and Composition.
"Winning the Friscoe was a big accomplishment for me because I had never composed big band before. It helped me realize that I'm on the right track and that this was where I should be."
In November 2004, he released a six-song EP called "Temporary Romance." The eight-minute track, "Just Don't Feel Like New York" was played on Akron radio station 91.3 FM. Stein said that he financed the album using the money he made at an engineering internship. In October 2005, he released a live album called, "Live at the 5th Ave. Coffee Shop" from his appearance at Victorian's Midnight Café.
"Some of my favorite songs (on the albums) would have to be "Paper Doll" because I think it's the most professional and complete, "Just Don't Feel Like New York" because it doesn't feel like an eight-minute song and "Stars Over Memphis" because it really summed up where I was at the time in terms of my musical frustrations," he said.
Though he is typically compared to Billy Joel, Elton John and Ben Folds Five, he said that his influences are Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Neil Young and former Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg.
On top of promoting his music, Stein has his hands full with his upcoming senior recital, writing music and serving as the musical director and primary arranger for MeshugaNotes, OSU's award-winning Jewish a cappella singing group that he has been involved with for three years.
"When I joined them, they didn't have a lot of original arrangements so that was a goal of mine," Stein said. "I wrote and co-wrote seven arrangements for them. They actually are about to release a CD and in a month we're going to New York to perform at the Jewish Collegiate Festival of the Performing Arts."
With his impending graduation this June, Stein's future plans are to hold off on graduate school and freelance for a while. He has a six-month job lined up to play on a cruise ship before he moves to New York and immerses himself in the industry.
When asked what kind of advice he would give to those just starting out, he jokingly said, "good luck" before going on to say, "My advice would be to open yourself to different possibilities, be practical and take all musical opportunities you're given because it can help you become more versatile and well-rounded, which will help you in the long run."
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