STEPHENSON MUSIC, INC.
LAKE FOREST, IL

, both to critical acclaim and the delight of audiences. The Boston Herald raved about “straightforward, unabashedly beautiful sounds,” suggesting “Stephenson deserves to be heard again and again!” A formal sense of melody and tonality characterize his music, each embedded in a contemporary soundscape. These qualities, coupled with the composer’s keen ability to write to each occasion, have led to a steady stream of commissions and ongoing projects. and soloist Gerry Pagano, in 2017. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band commissioned a symphony (the composer’s second in this genre) and gave the work its premiere in 2016 at the prestigious Midwest Clinic, and subsequently recorded the work. Additionally, James M. Stephenson came late to his full-time composing career, having performed 17 seasons as a trumpeter in the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. As such, the composer is largely self-taught, making his voice truly individual and his life’s work all the more remarkable. Colleagues and friends encouraged his earliest efforts and enthusiasm followed from all directions. As his catalog grew, so did his reputation. That catalog now boasts concertos and sonatas for nearly every instrument, earning him the moniker “The Concerto King” from Chicago Symphony clarinetist John Yeh. The vast majority of those compositions came through commissions by and for major symphony principal players, in Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Washington DC, St. Louis, Oregon, Milwaukee, and Dallas, among others. A major break came from the Minnesota Commissioning Club, which led to two works (violin concertos) receiving premieres in 2012—by Jennifer Frautschi with the © 2018 Stephenson Music. All Rights Reserved. But more importantly, Jim was a pleasure to introduce to the audiences and board as he’s well spoken and delightful to all. During rehearsals he brought a sense of calm stability as he helped with balance and support. And during the activities surrounding the performance he brought a sense of humor and a comfortable persona which I find to be a rare gem among composers. “My first experience with Jim Stephenson the composer (as opposed to my longtime friend Jim Stephenson the trumpeter) came hearing the large orchestra version of his “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The piece genuinely impressed me with its ingeniousness, its craftsmanship, and its emotional impact. It not only motivated me to help bring his Trumpet Concerto into the world, but also to encourage the same orchestra to commission a chamber orchestra version of Sleepy Hollow the very next year. A somewhat more compact “tightened up” version of the original resulted. The new version, I believe, became at once more effective—and with the smaller instrumentation, more cost effective for orchestras! As a novelty for our audience, we had Jim conduct and our Music Director did the narration. Both of them did terrific work!” Jim Stephenson wrote an exceptional piece for my wife’s trio called “Mountain Laurel Trio”. After year’s of orchestral trumpeting, his ear naturally captured the spirit and tone color of the bass clarinet and piccolo. It was an easy decision to commission Jim to write a piece in honor of my 25th season as principal flute with the Southwest Florida Symphony. The result is a fantastic and demanding concerto entitled “Pandora’s Waltz”. During the process, Jim and I became good friends. “…an absolutely brilliant Home for the Holidays. It seems as though everyone I talked to during the holidays raved about the concert. They appreciated the “fresh” arrangements, and enjoyed the humor. Much gratitude to you for making it all so easy.” I’ve known Jim for a quarter century. First as one of my outstanding students at NEC, where he completely hid (or hadn’t discovered) his amazing talent as a composer. Years later, I had the privilege to “sub” for him in the Naples Philharmonic. Through my foundation, I was honored to be able to contribute funding for several of his compositions, and most recently to actually commission “It’s About Time” for Marvin Stamm and me which received its premiere on March 8, 2014 with the NEC Wind Ensemble; “Duo Fantastique”, written for Eric Berlin and me, premiered at the ITG Conference in 2007 with the United States Coast Guard Band and recorded with the UMass Wind ensemble in 2009. My only regret is that I won’t be able to perform all of Jim’s beautiful compositions for trumpet. I’m extremely proud to have Jim as a friend also. If you are driving down a road, and you want to turn left, but a sign says “road closed”, you then take a new direction, and oftentimes are surprised by the scenery you might have otherwise not discovered. Writing for band provides some beautiful scenery. © 2018 Stephenson Music. All Rights Reserved.