News & Quotes

 

“Stephen Shewan is a considerable composer who deserves a wide audience.” 

   John Rutter

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" 'Gems' is right! Six rhymes from Mother Goose, this set is a concert in itself. Playful, touching, rocking - all these styles and emotions in one wonderful concert work."

   Hal Leonard Music 

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“The Sonata for Horn and Piano features contemporary sounds presented in an accessible way… It is a strong new work for horn that deserves to be performed often… Congratulations to Stephen Shewan for this excellent addition to the repertoire.”

   Katie Johnson, Horn Call 

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“The Elegy for Strings is a melancholy work with beautiful climaxes. Movement II of the Sonata for clarinet and piano is a beautiful Ballad. Shewan’s music garnered acclaim years ago from David Bond and Philip Greenfield. I like it, too.”

   Barry Kilpatrick, American Record Guide

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“This is an intriguing and unique composition that many performers and audiences will be delighted to experience.”

   Brian Winegardner, ITG Journal

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“That Hoedown! is terrific fun” and in King David’s Dance, “jazz meets pop meets bop meets mambo meets Stravinsky in this music orgy of biblical proportions. It’s all great fun.”

   Colin Clark, Fanfare

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“Stephen Shewan is a very talented composer, worthy of much higher acclaim than he has attained already. His music is highly evocative and expressive.” 

   American Record Guide

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“The Celebration Overture has an infectious energy brought about via bright orchestration and stompable rhythms, a sort of Copland but with Bernstein’s fire…the Elegy is moving…the splendidly intimate central ballad of the Sonata for clarinet and piano…if the spirit of Ives does to an extent hang around the finale (March) the wit is all Shewan’s.” 

   Fanfare Magazine

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“The most pleasurable work (on the program), A Celebration Overture (for orchestra) was unabashedly boisterous. Many times, its style was cubist Aaron Copland’s harmonies, rhythms and colors like his, but cut up and re-spliced, imaginatively and infectiously.” 

   The Houston Chronicle

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