Recent News
James Stephenson wins 2026 Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize
The Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance congratulates the 2025-2026 Biennium winner James Stephenson on his winning Symphony No. 5 and honorable mention Declaration! The Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize was created to further encourage the composition and performance of new, high-quality wind band literature in honor and memory of Ithaca College’s renowned Director of Bands. This highly successful and nationally renowned series is funded by the gracious support of the Ithaca College administration, alumni, and generous friends of the institution.
Life’s Journey – Jeffrey Work plays the music of James Stephenson
Oregon Symphony Principal Trumpeter Jeffrey Work and pianist María García, along with several Oregon Symphony colleagues and friends, present LIFE’S JOURNEY, a new recording of trumpet music by composer James Stephenson. At once virtuosic and nuanced, Work’s playing brings to life the music of his longtime friend, traversing a wide variety of emotional landscapes. The people who commission his works spark the composer’s imagination; through his music, we hear their stories of love, loss, adventure, and inspiration. The composer served as producer for each of the recording sessions which took place at The Hallowed Halls Recording Studio in Portland OR in the spring of 2024.
You have reached the city limits
“The evening opened with James Stephenson’s zesty paean to his native Chicago, You have reached the city limits. A commission from the Grant Park Music Festival, the ten-minute piece is a high-spirited musical road trip with stops at the city’s landmark blues and jazz outposts…Guerrero allowed each section of the orchestra to blossom fully while in the spotlight. But he melded the changes of mood and texture into a seamless, engaging whole. The players were obviously listening closely to one another, making the piece sound spontaneous and fresh.”
“In the piece, Stephenson tells the story of a couple who go on the town and explore Chicago’s blues scenes during various epochs, starting with the 1920s era, à la Jelly Roll Morton, and the 1940s and ’50s, à la Muddy Waters. It then moves on to more modern Chicago musical sounds…The overall effect of You Have Reached the City Limit was stunning.”
Princess and the Pea…
“an exquisite score from composer James Stephenson”
“Music by James Stephenson is heroic and whimsical, a complement to scenes where the Princess’ Underlings (Zachary Manske and Davide Oldano) bound menacingly around the local farmers and chase after Pea and her magic Carrot (Maxwell Dawe) companion.”
“Princess and the Pea, this new imagining that a Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist friend told me I couldn’t miss. Australian choreographer Dani Rowe collaborated with American Composer Jim Stephenson to create the story of Penelopea, who lives with her two loving dads in the Pea Town… It goes without saying that every section is ideally danced because, after all, this IS the Joffrey. As I was smiling in the dark, I realized that it is the balletic version of the CSO, a corps of artists so exquisitely excellent that they always make everything as it should be and can get away with anything.”
“Civitas has commissioned work from some of Chicago’s most admired composers, including Stacy Garrop and Jim Stephenson.” —Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune Music Critic (retired)