James Stevens (composer)

James Stevens (5 May 1923 in London – 26 June 2012) was an English composer of symphonic, operatic and avant-garde orchestral music, including film and television scores, as well as pop music of the 1960s.

Stevens studied initially with Benjamin Frankel in his exclusive class at the Guildhall School of Music in London. There he won several prestigious awards including the Royal Philharmonic Prize for his First Symphony; the Wainwright Scholarship for "composer of the year"; and a French Government Bursary which took him across the Channel to study with Darius Milhaud at the Paris Conservatoire. There he met Nadia Boulanger, who made him one of her star pupils who received Saturday evening tuition free of charge. He also enjoyed an open invitation to Arthur Honegger's classes.

Stevens commenced his extensive film career while still a student and was acclaimed at the Ealing Studios, where he constantly devised new film music techniques which are now standard practice.

Unusually, Stevens never confined himself to one particular musical genre, and took many opportunities to take part in pop music, jazz, films, television scores, and musicals. His musical Mamízelle Nitouche was revived in London's West End in the autumn of 2001. Although also concerned with serious avant-garde works, his music was melodic rather than atonal.

In one year, he was the only British composer to be selected for the annual International Society for Contemporary Music (with Etymon) while having a disc at number one in the Melody Maker charts (with Exploding Galaxy).

In 1995 he was invited to give a "James Stevens Day" in Cincinnati, shortly after which he was invited by the Musicians Union of Japan to represent English artists at the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 50th anniversary memorial ceremonies.

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