the music of stephen shewan
Stephen Shewan (pronounced
SHOO-in) has composed music for
numerous media, including orchestra, string quartet, chamber ensembles, symphonic band, solo voice, choir and piano. His music has been performed by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the US Army Strings, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Moores School Symphony Orchestra, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, the Vrije Univeriteit Amsterdam Choir and numerous choirs, bands, chamber ensembles and soloists across the United States and Europe.
Shewan was the winner of the 2018 Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize, the 2018 VocalEssence Welcome Christmas Carol Contest the 2016 Tampa Bay Master Chorale Christmas Carol Contest and the 2011 Robert H. Campbell Endowed Choral Composition Prize at the annual Choral Composition Festival at the Ithaca College School of Music. In 2019, he received an Honorable Mention in the annual Freudig Singers Choral Composition Competition.
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Shewan’s music can be heard on Music of Stephen Shewan, Albany Records (TROY149) Parables of God and Man Albany Records (TROY362) The Road Less Traveled Albany Records (TROY783) and Stephen Shewan: Orchestral and Instrumental Music (TROY 1569). Shewan’s music has been broadcast on over 200 radio stations in America on NPR’s Performance Today and on Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin.
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Pavane Publishing, exclusively distributed by Hal Leonard corporation, released Shewan’s “Mother Goose Gems” in 2020. Shewan’s “Sonata for Horn and Piano” is now available from Brass Arts Unlimited. His works have also been published by the Concordia and GIA publishing houses. Most of his music can be found on this website (yes there are numerous recent choral works that need to be added. Coming soon!).
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The American Record Guide wrote that “Stephen Shewan is a very talented composer, worthy of much higher acclaim than he has attained already. His music is highly evocative and expressive.” After the 50th anniversary concert in honor of KUHF radio, The Houston Chronicle called Shewan’s A Celebration Overture “the most pleasurable work (on the program), and unabashedly boisterous. Composer John Rutter wrote, “Stephen Shewan is a considerable composer who deserves a wide audience.”
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He is the co-founder of the Williamsville Poetry and Music Celebration the recipient of the 2011 Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts from the College Board. He is a member of the NYSSMA Composition Committee and ASCAP. He played horn in the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra from 1985-1992.
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In 2000, he received the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra/Erie County Council of Music Coordinators Award for Excellence in Music. In 2004 he was given the New York State Band Director Association’s Richard H. Snook Outstanding Band Director Award.
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Stephen Shewan taught and directed the bands at Williamsville East High School near Buffalo, New York from 1993-2020. He taught instrumental music at Odessa-Montour High School from 1983-1992. He is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College and Ithaca College, and received his DMA from the Eastman School of Music where his primary teacher was Samuel Adler. He is an active guest conductor, pianist, and clinician. Now retired from full-time teaching, he devotes his time to composing, accompanying, and teaches a course on advanced aural skills at Roberts Wesleyan College. He lives with his beautiful wife, Ruthie, his dog Jubal, and his cat Precious.