Web Page for Scott David Farquhar Last Updated 1-24-2003

A Not So Brief Biography

I was born on June 5th, 1968 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. I grew up in Silver Spring (Calverton, to be precise) and went to Galway Elementary, Francis Scott Key Junior High, and Paint Branch High School where I graduated in 1986. I briefly attended The University of Maryland at College Park. Realizing I didn't have quite the mindset to attend college at that time (I wanted to have FUN!), I ended up working for Control Data Corporation from 1987-1988. I made what was decent money for me at the time, had fun in my spare time, and enjoyed the experience. Eventually, I wanted to go back to school and I decided while driving down the road one day to my corporate "real life" job that was starting to seem tedious to me, that the classes and experiences I enjoyed the most while going to school were all related to music. I knew that studying music would be difficult, and that it wasn't thought of as being the most financially rewarding career choice. However, I decided that if I didn't TRY to go where my heart was telling me to go, then I would always wonder and regret it for the rest of my life.

So I enrolled at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD taking some general classes, some music classes as well, and working part-time to support myself. Within a couple years, I found the musical experiences to be challenging, but also enjoyable and rewarding. I was consistently on the Dean's List, and I eventually earned my Assosiate in Arts degree in Music, with honors, in May of 1992. I applied, auditioned, and was accepted at Towson State University, so I transferred my credits, moved to Baltimore, and enrolled as an Instrumental Music Education major. I attended classes (sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time), worked to support myself (again, sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time), and managed to practice, study, eat, sleep, and even occasionally have some fun. Eventually, I switched to Music Theory and Composition as my major, and I earned my Bachelor of Science in Music Theory and Composition in 1995, and attended the May 1996 graduation ceremony.

I stayed in the Baltimore area for a few years working as a manger for Waldenbooks. In the summer of 1999, I moved back to Silver Spring, and shortly thereafter began working for Dale Music. Outside of this enjoyable job, I've been experiencing some success performing, arranging, composing, and self-publishing my music.

Back to the Top

Music Biography

Professional musicians get to write their own music biographies for programs and such. This is a wonderful exercise in shameless self promotion. I think I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. Here's what my current music biography would look like (provided, of course, that there was unlimited space in a program for it! *grin*):

Mr. Farquhar began studying clarinet at age 9 and gave his first public performance in recital shortly before his 10th birthday. From the ages of 12-18 he played bass clarinet in concert band, marching band, and doubled on tenor sax in the pit orchestra for musical theatre productions of "Bells are Ringing", and "Guys and Dolls". He attended Montgomery College in Rockville, MD where he studied piano with Dr. Richard Werder, jazz piano with Mark Cook, played bass clarinet in wind ensemble and flute ensemble, alto sax in jazz band, and sang bass in chorus. He received his Associate in Arts degree in music, with honors, in 1992. Mr. Farquhar transferred to Towson State University and studied piano with Ms. Christina Giorgilli, bass clarinet with Edward Palanker of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and composition with Dr. William Kleinsasser and Dr. John Bowen. He played bass clarinet in symphonic band, soprano clarinet in marching band, and the contra-alto clarinet in clarinet choir. Original works by Mr. Farquhar were produced and performed at the Towson State University 20th Century Music Festivals of 1994 and 1995. He received his Bachelor of Science in Music Theory and Composition in 1996. In the spring of 1999, he composed and arranged the incidental music and songs for the Paint Branch High School production of "Dirty Work at the Crossroads". He is the composer of theme and incidental music for Prometheus Radio Theatre's productions of The Arbiter Chronicles. He has composed and arranged works for performance by The New Wave Singers of Baltimore. In January of 2001 Mr. Farquhar founded Splunge Music and joined The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He currently resides in Ellicott City, MD and works for The Dale Music Company, and as a freelance composer, arranger, music publisher, and performer.

Back to the Top

Links / Affiliations

Back to the Top

Essays

Here are some of the essays I wrote while studying at Towson. If you're looking for the cure for insomnia, look no further! But hopefully they will be of interest, if you like this sort of thing.

Back to the Top