Halsey Stevens

Birth Date: December 3, 1908 in Scott, NY

Death Date: January 20, 1989 in Long Beach, CA

Stevens studied piano and composition at Syracuse University and composition the University of California Berkley (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). On September 2, 1939, he married Herriett Elizabeth Merritt, with whom he had three children (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Stevens taught at many universities (McNamara).

He served as a faculty member at Syracuse University, Dakota Wesleyan University, Bradley University, the University of Redlands, and the University of Southern California (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Stevens was also a visiting professor at Pomona College, the University of Washington, Yale University, the University of Cincinnati, and Williams College (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). He taught the longest at the University of Southern California, from 1946-1976 (McNamara). In 1949, he became the department chair of the composition department (McNamara). From 1976 until he passed away in 1989, he named a professor emeritus (McNamara).

Stevens composed for orchestra, chamber groups, keyboard, and chorus (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). His compositions have been played in the U.S. along with at least 30 other countries (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Stevens also received commissions from the following: the Louisville Orchestra, the University of Redlands, the University of Southern California, the Fromm Music Foundation, the University of Illinois, the San Francisco Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, the Friends of Lee Gibson, the Claude M. Almand Memorial Fund, Sigma Alpha Iota, Pi Kappa Lambda, North Texas State University, Georgia Southern College, the Alchin Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). All of these commissions were from 1953-1975(“Halsey Stevens Biography”).

Stevens has received numerous awards, including two Guggenheim Fellowships, Friends of Harvey Gaul Award, National Institute of Arts and Letters Grant, Doctor of Letters degree from Syracuse University, the University of Southern California Faculty Award, the Ramo Music Faulty Award, and the Abraham Lincoln Award from the American Hungarian Foundation (“Halsey Stevens Biography”).

Many of Stevens’ compositions have been recorded, including Triskelion, Sinfonia Breve, Symphony No. 1, Symphonic Dances, Sonata for Solo Cello, Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Sonata for Tuba and Piano, Concerto for Clarinet, Sonatina for Tuba and Piano, Sonata for Horn and Piano, Partita for Harpsichord, and Quintet for Flute, Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Many of his choral compositions have been recorded as well (“Halsey Stevens Biography”).

Stevens has written articles and reviews for many publications, including Music Quarterly, Notes, the Journal of Music Theory, Music and Letters, and Tempo (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Stevens not only lectured at over 60 colleges and universities across America, but also in Copenhagen, Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Milan (“Halsey Stevens Biography”).

Stevens learned Hungarian so he could read Béla Bartók’s original letters and documents before writing The Life and Music of Béla Bartók (Frankenstein). By the time Stevens completed the discography that makes up the appendix, he had recorded 55 of Bartók’s 96 total works (Frankenstein). The Life and Music of Béla Bartók has had two revised editions, one in 1964 and the other in 1967 (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). It has also been translated into Japanese (“Halsey Stevens Biography”). Resulting from the extensive research he did on Bartók, Stevens’ music became influenced by Bartók’s style (McNamara).

 

Works Cited

Frankenstein, Alfred. “Halsey Stevens: Bartók.” Halsey Stevens: Bartók. San Francisco Chronicle, 17 May 1953. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

“Halsey Stevens Biography.” Halsey Stevens. n.p. n.d. Web. 13 March. 2015.

McNamara, Anne Kovarik (2014). A Century of American Solo Trumpet Music. Diss. University of Maryland, 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.