*A Composed Life: Inaugural Newsletter for Jim Stephenson, Composer

Click here to join newsletter list

OPUS 1: INAUGURAL NEWSLETTER OF JIM STEPHENSON: COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, ARRANGER, EDUCATOR

JANUARY 20, 2021

*A composed life: Music and Jim Stephenson News about what’s just happened, what’s happening, and what’s coming up

I

will always cherish and hold in high esteem the musical giants of the past, in addition to adding my own modern sensitivities, so as to try to give my music a blend of familiarity and new discovery all at

once. With this, I hope to lead audiences and performers on a journey of both anticipation and reward.

*Looking for a name!

Help Jim entitle his newsletter and win an unaccompanied solo

~ Jim Stephenson

In this issue:

Wooden Dimes

✦ An inaugural premiere!

Read how an inspiration in November becomes a premiere at a Presidential inauguration.

✦ Featured story : the dance to create a San Francisco Ballet premiere. ✦ Works written in the last month

Working with a choreographer, a music director and a ballet company to shift to an online premiere in unprecedented times.

Story on next page.

Concerto for brass, plus music inspired by rap, works for adaptable ensemble, and a trombone octet.

RECENT

NOW

NEXT

JUST WRITTEN

CURRENT NEWS

LOOKING AHEAD

Discover what Jim has just composed in the last month, and for whom they were written.

What is being featured at the moment, and who is involved

What’s on Jim’s writing schedule, and what activities are coming up.

1

World premiere at President Biden’s inauguration A walk on Nov. 7, 2020 turns into a most historical premiere

Click here to join newsletter list

A COMPOSED LIFE, OPUS 1

JANUARY 20, 2021

FANFARE for DEMOCRACY for brass ensemble Premiered on January 20, 2021 by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band conducted by Col. Jason K. Fettig On Saturday, November 7, it was an unusually warm day in the Chicago area. Upon the announcement of the election results, there seemed to be a sense of relief in the air, and everyone was out enjoying - at least at that point - the release of some everbuilding stress. My wife Sally and I took our dog for a long walk, and met some friends for a beverage. During the entire walk and social gathering, I could not get the sounds of a fanfare out of my head. I knew I had to write something. I went home that afternoon and composed what would become “Fanfare for Democracy”.

I sent a note to Col. Fettig telling him of the piece, and upon reviewing it, he agreed to include it at the Inaugural ceremony at the swearing in of President Biden and Vice-President Harris.

Needles to say, this kind of opportunity does not come up too often, and I’m incredibly honored to be attached to history, even if in such a relatively small way.

ORDER MUSIC

WOODEN DIMES —

in such unprecedented circumstances, the “dance” to create a world premiere with the San Francisco Ballet.

Music by James M. Stephenson; Choreography by Danielle Rowe

In October of 2019, I received a most unexpected phone call: the San Francisco Ballet wanted to commission me to write an original ballet score, set to the choreography of Dani Rowe.

I had never met Dani, nor written an original ballet score. So how exactly does this happen?

It turns out I have my old friend Steven Reineke to thank. Steve and I have long been friends since our early days writing arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops in the 1990s. He’s gone on to bigger things, and I am forever grateful to him for recommending this opportunity for me, and for many other opportunities.

I began writing the piece in earnest in April of 2020. Unfortunately, my father had just passed away, but I found this new world of ballet to be a just-what-I-needed escape from the stress of the grief and other world-problems (i.e. global pandemic). I have discovered through this very ballet that I absolutely love storytelling, and this is a direction I wish to pursue with even more passion as my career continues.

As for “Wooden Dimes”, I handed in the score in early June, still looking forward to a world premiere in the spring of 2021.

The next stages of composer/choreographer working together remained invigorating; just what one might expect. Dani loved most of it (what a relief!), but did have some suggestions, which resulted in some new music created in one place, with other sections being shortened or deleted there. Dani then began choreographing, and we were arriving at what we thought was a final version just as the world turned evermore upside down, due to the pandemic.

We began to discuss with the Music Director, Martin West, how we might pivot, as it became clear that a staged version might not be possible. The new plan was for Dani to create a filmed version, which would premiere in January, 2021, with a recorded orchestra attached as a soundtrack. The first project for me was to quickly create a newly reduced orchestration (eliminating almost half of the winds), to allow for smaller group of players to gather and record. I quickly had that completed by November, while poor Martin was juggling other scores to be created, and while Dani began filming with a film-director, and, while California was getting worse and worse as a hot-zone for the virus.

With the state and its concert halls all closing due to safety precautions, finding a space to record has become the next challenge. As of this writing, after cancellations to record at Skywalker Ranch, Martin is hoping to get musicians into booths at the San Francisco Conservatory; but even if successful, the next challenge is a reverse-engineered film scoring procedure.

2

Click here to join newsletter list

A COMPOSED LIFE, OPUS 1

JANUARY 20, 2021

The choreography and filming have all been completed. Therefore, now every live recording Martin creates must match exactly the tempo to that of the computerized-playback (which I had produced for Dani to rehearse the dancers), and to which Dani and the dancers created their film.

This has resulted in the necessity for the creation of other playbacks, where we essentially “trick” the timings - taking away some seconds in places, but adding other seconds elsewhere, so that Martin can actually make MUSIC within the rigid tempo-map of the alreadycreated film. If you’re confused - join the club!

Anyway, I feel like I’ve had the easy job. I’ve only seen snippets thus-far, but I am so happy and proud of what the company of dancers has produced, and what the musicians will go through to individually record new tracks of a piece they’ve never heard; and then the work of choreographer, conductor, editors, film producers/directors, all stepping into unknown territory in the name of producing a world premiere for a waiting audience that has no idea what it might have taken to get on the screen.

As of this writing, the premiere is still scheduled for March 4, and will be available online for several weeks after that.

My hope is to see it produced on stage some day, of course, with a live audience (!!), but like everything else these days: one step at a time, just like a dance.

JUST WRITTEN: DECEMBER 1, 2020 - JANUARY 20, 2021 FANFARE for an ANGEL

VOYAGES

DOPPLER CANYON

and

concerto for brass ensemble

Pears for our Heirs

UBI CARITAS

For trombone octet

For adaptable ensembles Commissioned by Mark Tillinger for the Music City Brass

Commissioned by David Begnoche and Texas Christian University

ORDER MUSIC

• JUST COMPLETING: “TWISTED SHOUT”, a commission from Lockport Township High School, directed by Brian Covey.

(true fact: I went to high school there for one year!)

CURRENT NEWS • REPERTOIRE and MUSICIANS contracted for an all-Stephenson CD with Mike Fansler at Western Illinois University.

• 5 new videos of Fanfare for an Angel:

ELMER CHURAMPI

ORCH-LUXEMBOURG

JON DANTE

NAPLES TRUMPETS

MN ORCHESTRA

• Fanfare for Democracy premiered at the 59th Presidential Inauguration. January 20, 2021

LOOKING AHEAD NEXT ON MY PLATE: • Excited to create a wind ensemble version of my ballet score - Wooden Dimes - for “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, to be

premiered under the direction of Col. Jason K. Fettig.

• More work/joy as “Musical Collaborator” with the

Grand Rapids Symphony, re-scoring masterworks for smaller instrumentations

Did you know??

My first composition was a trumpet duet - called “Milwaukanston” - and detailed a cycling trip from Milwaukee, WI to Evanston, IL

Find me on:

FACEBOOK

twitter

Instagram

3

LinkedIn

ComposerJim.com