Stephen Brown (composer)
Encyclopedia
Stephen John Brown is a Canadian composer
. He holds ARCT Diplomas in both Theory and Composition from the Royal Conservatory of Music
and is an Associate of the Canadian Music Centre
. Brown is Department Head of Theory and Composition at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, British Columbia
, and a senior marker and examination designer for both the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. He has twice served as a juror for the British Columbia Arts Council (performance & composition) and is a clinician and adjudicator in Western Canada
.
His compositions include a symphony
, a piano concerto
, three song cycles, two overtures, two suites for orchestra
, a canticle
for soprano
, chorus
and string orchestra
, an elegy
for soprano and string orchestra, a missa brevis
, and many chamber and solo works. Recently Brown has completed his second and third suites for solo cello
, a woodwind quintet revision, and a commission for soprano Jenny Such for a song cycle for soprano and marimba
. Future projects include a 17 movement work for piano
solo, a piano quintet
, and a concerto
for violin
, viola
, and orchestra. He has taken a particular interest in pedagogical works, writing seven books of student pieces for piano, as well as, a book each for violin and flute
. He has had many works performed at orchestral and solo concerts.
Performances include those by Erich Kunzel
and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
, the Vancouver
and Victoria
Symphony Orchestras and the Sidney Classical Orchestra (formerly the St. Cecilia Orchestra) in Sidney, British Columbia
, of which he is the artistic director and conductor. Under his direction, the Sidney Classical Orchestra has premiered a significant number of contemporary works by various composers. He occasionally conducts the Victoria Conservatory Senior Orchestra and Chorus. Concert programs have included Handel
: Judas Maccabeaus, Haydn: Mass in Time of War, Beethoven: Five Piano Concertos and the Choral Fantasy, Mozart: Flute concerto
and Piano Concertos, Haydn: St. Cecilia Mass (2003), Mozart concertos (2006), Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Ah! Perfido, Violin Romance in F major (2008).
Besides his love of classical music
, he takes an active interest in early jazz
, playing banjo
with the Bastion Jazz Band in Victoria, British Columbia
.
, England
. Due to the shortage of pilots at the beginning of World War II
, his father was able to become a RAF fighter pilot
, training in Canada
and Oklahoma
, USA. After the war, in order to better their fortunes, the family immigrated in 1952 to Montreal
. His father was employed as a salesman of typewriters, and later, in Kitchener, Ontario
, after 1958, of office supplies and time equipment. Brown's parents purchased him an electric guitar
when he was 13, and when he turned 16 he left school to further his musical career. He became a furniture mover.
Moving to Toronto that same year Brown eked out a living doing various menial jobs, and occasionally traveled throughout North America. When he turned 21 he became a taxi driver, an occupation that helped support him, along with private music teaching and playing piano in bands in the traditional New Orleans style, for the next 20 years. As an adult, he attended the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and graduated with diplomas in both composition and theory. In order to better his fortunes, he moved in 1990, to Sidney, British Columbia. He began teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in 1993 and became head of the Theory and Composition Department in 1996. He has had two marriages and has four children.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He holds ARCT Diplomas in both Theory and Composition from the Royal Conservatory of Music
Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music is a music school and performance venue in Toronto, Canada. Other uses of the term include:*The Madrid Royal Conservatory, Spain*The Royal Academy of Music, London, United Kingdom...
and is an Associate of the Canadian Music Centre
Canadian Music Centre
The Canadian Music Centre holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music. The CMC exists to promote the works of its Associate Composers in Canada and around the world....
. Brown is Department Head of Theory and Composition at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and a senior marker and examination designer for both the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. He has twice served as a juror for the British Columbia Arts Council (performance & composition) and is a clinician and adjudicator in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
.
His compositions include a symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, a piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
, three song cycles, two overtures, two suites for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, a canticle
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and string orchestra
String orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
, an elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
for soprano and string orchestra, a missa brevis
Missa Brevis
Missa brevis literally means "short mass" and can refer to different types of musical setting of the Mass. Modernly, Missa brevis is generally understood as a setting of parts of the ordinary mass...
, and many chamber and solo works. Recently Brown has completed his second and third suites for solo cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, a woodwind quintet revision, and a commission for soprano Jenny Such for a song cycle for soprano and marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
. Future projects include a 17 movement work for piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
solo, a piano quintet
Piano quintet
In European classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly piano, two violins, viola, and cello . Among the most frequently performed piano quintets are those by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Antonín Dvořák...
, and a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, and orchestra. He has taken a particular interest in pedagogical works, writing seven books of student pieces for piano, as well as, a book each for violin and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. He has had many works performed at orchestral and solo concerts.
Performances include those by Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra , which he led for over 44 years.-Early life and career:Kunzel was born to...
and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
Symphony Orchestras and the Sidney Classical Orchestra (formerly the St. Cecilia Orchestra) in Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
, of which he is the artistic director and conductor. Under his direction, the Sidney Classical Orchestra has premiered a significant number of contemporary works by various composers. He occasionally conducts the Victoria Conservatory Senior Orchestra and Chorus. Concert programs have included Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
: Judas Maccabeaus, Haydn: Mass in Time of War, Beethoven: Five Piano Concertos and the Choral Fantasy, Mozart: Flute concerto
Flute concerto
A flute concerto is a concerto for solo flute and instrumental ensemble, customarily the orchestra. Such works have been written from the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
and Piano Concertos, Haydn: St. Cecilia Mass (2003), Mozart concertos (2006), Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Ah! Perfido, Violin Romance in F major (2008).
Besides his love of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, he takes an active interest in early jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, playing banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
with the Bastion Jazz Band in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
.
Biography
Stephen Brown was born to working class parents in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Due to the shortage of pilots at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, his father was able to become a RAF fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
, training in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, USA. After the war, in order to better their fortunes, the family immigrated in 1952 to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. His father was employed as a salesman of typewriters, and later, in Kitchener, Ontario
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, after 1958, of office supplies and time equipment. Brown's parents purchased him an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
when he was 13, and when he turned 16 he left school to further his musical career. He became a furniture mover.
Moving to Toronto that same year Brown eked out a living doing various menial jobs, and occasionally traveled throughout North America. When he turned 21 he became a taxi driver, an occupation that helped support him, along with private music teaching and playing piano in bands in the traditional New Orleans style, for the next 20 years. As an adult, he attended the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and graduated with diplomas in both composition and theory. In order to better his fortunes, he moved in 1990, to Sidney, British Columbia. He began teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in 1993 and became head of the Theory and Composition Department in 1996. He has had two marriages and has four children.
Orchestral
- Canadian Folk Song Overture
- The Fife and Fiddle Suite
- The Northern Journey, a symphony in five movements
- Black Eyed Susan
- The Carol Suite
- Piano Concerto
- Sunrise Serenade
- On the Idle Hill of Summer
Vocal Music
- Chinese Love Lyrics, a seven song cycle
- Where the Geese Go Barefoot, a five song cycle
- Shadow of a Leaf, a ten song cycle sung as one movement
Chorus
- Canticle of the Sun, with string orchestra and solo soprano
- Alleluia
- St. Elizabeth Missa Brevis
Chamber music
- Suite for Woodwinds
- Six Violin (or Viola) Duets
- On the Idle Hill of Summer
- I See the Moon
Solo Piano
- Thirteen Canadian Folk Songs for Piano
- Six Pentatonic Preludes
- Five Extremities
- Bon Bons for Beginners
- Giant Things
- Boeckmann Toccatas
- 18th Century Suites • Book 1
- West Coast Sundries
- Seconda Pratica
Other Solo Instruments
- Takkakaw Falls, a suite, versions for either flute, violin, viola, or cello
- Four Romances and a Lunch, violin
- Fire, suite for cello
- There Was a Lady in the East, a suite, version for either violin, viola, or cello