Scott Tixier WORKSHOP / USA

Meet Scott Tixier, violinist, composer and educator specializing in improvisation.

One of the extraordinary talents of his generation, professor Scott Tixier has made a name for himself as a violinist-composer of broad ambition, individuality and drive. For him, freedom of expression is the ultimate luxury and a skill he wants to share with his graduate students at the University of North Texas. When he’s not in the classroom, he collaborates and performs with stars across genres (John Legend, Stevie Wonder, and most recently Adele, to name a few) or lives his life the way he plays his instrument—taking it moment by moment.

In August 2018, Tixier joined the University of North Texas, College of Music as Assistant Professor of Violin (Jazz/Popular/Alternative Styles) and Director of the Jazz String Lab. Prof. Tixier has moved his annual workshops to an online format during the pandemic. The workshop is based on Scott Tixier’s book, which is source material for jazz string improvisation. It includes jazz vocabulary, phrasing, ear training, string articulation and left hand techniques and solo development, as well as discussions of live performance amplification and EQ.

“I think the reason I have so many different styles is because the violin is like a mountain bike – it’s a hybrid. You can go anywhere with a violin. You can play gypsy music, classical music, of course baroque, rock, Irish, folk, Indian – it’s in every culture. It is a tool that is very versatile and can be in any situation.

I think another reason I do so many different styles is because I’m an improviser, so I don’t stay in one box. I’ve been trying since I was a kid, I had it in my head that I don’t belong anywhere because I don’t like to follow the crowd. I like to create my own universe and my own world, and I always have to do that with my improvisation”.

Scott Tixier