Donald Steven (born 26 May 1945) is a Canadian-American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

, and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

. An associate composer of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, he won a BMI Student Composer Award in 1970, the

Canadian Federation of University Women The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) (French: ''Fédération canadienne des femmes diplômées des universités CFDU') is a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded organization with nearly 100 CFUW Clubs, located in every province acr ...

's Golden Jubilee Creative Arts Award in 1972, the 1987

Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year The Juno Award for "Classical Composition of the Year" has been awarded since 1987, as recognition each year for the best classical music composition in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territori ...

(for ''Pages of Solitary Delights'') and the 1991 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music (for ''In the Land of Pure Delight''). His musical compositions are characterized by their emphasis on instrumental colour and atmosphere. Perhaps his most well known piece is his ''Illusions'' for solo

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, which has been widely performed in concert and on television and radio broadcasts.

Life and career

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, he attended

Selwyn House School Selwyn House School (SHS) is an English-language independent K-11 boys' school located in Westmount, Quebec. The school was founded in 1908 by Englishman Captain Algernon Lucas and was named in honour of Selwyn College at the University of Cam ...

, followed by

Ashbury College Ashbury College is an independent day and boarding school located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was originally founded in 1891 by former faculty of Bishop's College School in Quebec to accommodate BCS students living ...

. He began his career performing and arranging folk and rock music in the 1960s (most notably with The Raftsmen) before pursuing professional studies in music. In 1968 he entered

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

where he was a

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

student of

Bruce Mather Bruce Mather (born May 9, 1939) is a Canadians, Canadian composer, pianist, and writer who is particularly known for his contributions to contemporary classical music. One of the most notable composers of microtonal music, he was awarded the Jule ...

. After graduating from McGill with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in 1972, he entered the graduate music program at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

where he studied under

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...

, earning a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in 1974. He later earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from Princeton. In 1975 Steven joined the Faculty of Music (now the

Schulich School of Music The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...

) at McGill University, ultimately becoming the head of the performance department in 1986. He taught music composition at the school until 1992 and was involved in the modernization of McGill's studio for electronic music and the creation of the computer music studios. In 1992 he became dean of the Conservatory of Music at

Purchase College Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between ...

and, subsequently in 1997, founding dean of the College of the Performing Arts at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

. He has since worked in senior administration at the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

and

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

, and retired as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

in 2013. He is also a former faculty member of the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

. Steven's works have been performed throughout the world, including the ''World Music Days'' of the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

and the World Cello Congress.Canadian Music Centre
/ref> He has received numerous commissions, including from

Maureen Forrester Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, (July 25, 1930 – June 16, 2010) was a Canadian operatic contralto. Life and career Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in Montreal, Quebec, one of four children of Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmak ...

Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (born July 28, 1942 in Tokyo) is a Japanese cellist. He started to study music under the tutorship of Hideo Saito, founder of the Tokyo Conservatory."Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi", Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Tsutsumi made his debut as celli ...

Bertram Turetzky Bertram Jay Turetzky (born February 14, 1933) is a contemporary American double bass (contrabass) soloist, composer, teacher, and author of ''The Contemporary Contrabass'' (1974, 1989), a book that looked at a number of new and interesting ways o ...

, Robert Riseling, and Alvaro Pierri, and from '' La Société de musique contemporaine du Québec'', ''Répercussion'', the ''Pierrot Ensemble'', the ''Canadian Electronic Ensemble'', ''New Music Concerts'' and the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Selected works

Counterpoint Music Library Services, Inc.
/ref> * ''Harbinger'', a fantasia for soprano and orchestra, 1969 (BMI Award for Student Composers), 1969 * ''Illusions'', an elegy for solo cello, 1971 * ''The Gossamer Cathedral'', five surrealistic frescoes for chamber ensemble, 1972 * ''Crossroads'', for chamber ensemble, 1974 * ''The Transient'', for soprano and chamber ensemble, 1975 * ''Images: Refractions of Time and Space'', for flute, electric piano, electric bass and percussion, 1977 * ''For Madmen Only'', magic theatre for solo cello and orchestra, 1978 * ''Rainy Day Afternoon'', for brass quintet, 1979 * ''Night Suite'', for chamber ensemble, 1979 * ''Wired'', electronic ensemble and optional tape, 1981 * ''On the Down Side'', for jazz septet, 1982 * ''Bert in Nether-Nether Land'', adventures for solo contrabass and ensemble, 1983 * ''Ordre sans ordre (sans désordre)'', concerto for solo guitar and chamber orchestra, 1984 * ''Straight on Till Morning'', for chamber ensemble and tape, 1985 * ''Pages of Solitary Delights'', for contralto and orchestra, 1985 (Juno Award 1987) * ''Sapphire Song'', for solo clarinet, 1986 * ''Love Where the Nights are Long'', for soprano, oboe d'amore and orchestra, 1987 * ''Full Valleys'', for children's choir, 1989 * ''Orbits'', for four percussionists and tape, 1989 * ''That Other Shore'', for solo contrabass and low strings, 1990 * ''In the Land of Pure Delight'', for chamber ensemble, 1991 (Jules Léger Prize 1991) * ''ô, to make dreames true'', miniatures for the

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

Instrumentarium, 2001 * ''mesmerie0000-mesmerie0100'', five computer-generated etudes, 2008 * ''GearTrain'', computer-generated isorhythmic motet, 2008 * ''ScatterToms'', computer-generated electronic music, 2013 * ''Evensong'', computer-generated electronic music, 2015 * ''Generations'', computer-generated electronic and ambient music, 2015 * ''Au Bord des Flots'', Scènes Acadiennes d'autrefois pour trois jeunes ami(e)s de la clarinette, 2015 * ''Anamnesis'', for two shakuhachi, 2016 * ''souvenirs d'autrefois'', three bagatelles for clarinet and bassoon, 2016 * ''October'', for solo alto flute, 2017 * ''Dusk'', for shakuhachi and chamber ensemble, 2020

References

The Canadian EncyclopediaCanadian Music Centrela Société de musique contemporaine du QuébecCounterpoint Music Library Services, Inc.Library of Congress online catalog

External links

* ttps://soundcloud.com/ Impartial Music at SoundCloud {{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Donald 1945 births Living people Canadian male composers Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music winners Canadian classical composers Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year winners McGill University School of Music alumni Academic staff of McGill University Musicians from Montreal Princeton University alumni Rider University faculty Roosevelt University faculty State University of New York faculty Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario