I just wanted to send you a note to say that your arrangements went off in spectacular fashion for our Family Holiday program at the end of December… your charts brought a fresh excitement to the familiar pieces. We really enjoyed it.

The Racine Symphony Orchestra just played to a sold out and very enthusiastic audience featuring an entire evening of your music. In addition to the many appealing Christmas arrangements, your original scores of “Hot Santa” and Timeless Treasures” were winningly performed by a talented local singer. Largely due to the strength of your delightful music Jim, this was the most successful Holiday Pops concert of my tenure. I can’t thank you enough for your role in a concert experience that was so satisfying for both the audience and the musicians. BRAVO!

It is a pleasure to say that our premiere of Jim’s violin piece was a great success with the Rhode Island Philharmonic in every way..Jim was so wonderful to work with. He is a real talent with terrific ears, ideas, and the most wonderful manner!

Jim…what can I say.. You challenge me musically and with a good “kick in the pants” technically!! I feel very honored to be able to premier a number of your masterpieces and look forward to more before I hang this horn up.

“Working with Jim Stephenson was a fantastic experience!

As a collaborator, he was open, accessible and inspiring. The parts were immaculate, received AHEAD of schedule and were extremely clear in terms of musical expression.

Best of all, his Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra is a fantastic piece of music! It evokes so many emotional reactions and one hears it’s distinct voice from the very first bars. The audience loved it, and rightfully so. It is the best of what 21st century music can be: music that inspires and entertains while in no way pandering for any sort of easy listening audience reaction. It is, simply put, great music.”

Performing Jim’s “Tributes” Violin Concerto was a highlight of the entire 2016/17 season. Bringing Jim to the performance so he could interact with the audience, musicians, and board members made it that much more existing. Jim’s music is captivating and engaging form the first note and the audience was enraptured for the duration.

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.

“Compose Yourself! by James Stephenson has the perfect blend of education and entertainment. Students learn about the instruments of the orchestra and even get to participate in composing a piece using three elements of music- melody, harmony, and rhythm. The program is lighthearted and comical and the musicians really got into the theatrical aspects of it. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will definitely be using this fantastic educational program again.”

“When Jim Stephenson collaborates with a performer, he really does a great job writing for the individual person as well as for the occasion. The Trumpet Concerto which I premiered both played to my strengths and stretched me as well. As the composition came together, I felt very comfortable giving Jim reactions and suggestions, many of which made their way into the final score. The end result delighted the audience, made an excellent impression on the orchestra players and, perhaps most importantly, became a valued addition to the trumpet repertoire!”

“Jim, it was so great to have you with us, and your arrangements have received rave reviews! We like to keep our holiday show fresh each year, and you delivered!”

Jim Stephenson is a very talented composer, and equally skilled as a collaborator, with the ability to communicate his craft and love of music to symphony boards and audiences alike.

Jim was a pleasure to work with, and came up with a fantastic piece of music, not just for me, but an addition to the rep that has already been performed by Randy Hawes and Doug Yeo. It is a real asset to have Jim’s writing for our instrument!

“It’s no accident that Jim Stephenson has become the “it” guy among American composers. His is a truly prodigious talent, endlessly inventive and astonishingly prolific. You NEED to hear his music!”

After choosing Jim to compose a piece for the 150th Celebration of Gustavus, I was immediately impressed when Jim asked if he could come to campus to talk about the history of the college and history of music at the college. Moreover, he wanted to know what I thought was important about Gustavus, because he wanted to be engaged from the very beginning. The result was a magnificent and very thoughtful piece—which was premiered at the Gustavus Music Showcase in March of 2012. Thank you, Jim!

Jim wrote for me, in 2005, a tribute piece for one of my heroes, Timofei Dokshizer, one of the greatest trumpet players of all time. His composition is a gem that captures all the lyricism, drama, and virtuosity that Mr Dokshizer possessed in his own playing. I’m honored that Jim wrote such a masterpiece for me, and that we could premiere it at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in 2005.

In “Elegy for Mundy” Jim has captured the essence of the great Armando Ghitalla; elegant, lyrical, dramatic, tender, and operatic. With musical allusions to Mundy’s great recordings of Copland, Hummel, Opera Arias, and Boehme, this heartfelt duo should enter the repertoire of every serious trumpeter.

“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.

I have known Jim Stephenson for a very long time. When I initially approached Jim about writing a piece for me and The Washington Trombone Ensemble, I gave him very few guidelines. There were just a few things which I wanted to see included in the work, but the rest I entrusted to Jim.
I play this work now as one wears a custom-fitted suit.

Road Not Taken was completed before the due date and was on my music stand ready to be shedded well in advance of the premiere. It is now considered a major addition to the solo bass trombone repertoire as well as trombone choir repertoire.