Composer's Life and Works
Stephen John Brown was born in 1948 to working class parents in Nottingham, England. Due to the shortage of pilots at the beginning of World War II his father was able to become a RAF fighter pilot, training in Canada and Oklahoma. After the war, in order to better their fortunes, the family immigrated in 1952 to Montreal, Canada. His father was employed as a salesman of typewriters, and later, when the family move to Kitchener, Ontario in 1958, of office supplies and time equipment. Brown's parents purchased him an electric guitar when he was 13, and when he turned 16 he left school to further his musical career. He became a furniture mover.
Moving to Toronto that same year Brown eked out a living working various menial jobs and occasionally traveling throughout North America. When he turned 21 he became a taxi driver. This occupation helped support him, along with private music teaching and playing piano in traditional New Orleans style jazz bands, for the next 20 years. As an adult he attended the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and graduated with diplomas in both composition and theory. In order to better his fortunes Brown moved in 1990 to Sidney, British Columbia. He began teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in 1993 and became head of the Theory and Composition Department in 1996. He has had two marriages and has four children.
Brown is an Associate of the Canadian Music Centre. He is a senior marker and examination designer for the Victoria Conservatory of Music and a senior examination designer for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. He has twice served as a juror for the British Columbia Arts Council (performance & composition) and is a clinician and adjudicator.
His compositions include a symphony, a piano concerto, three song cycles, two overtures, two suites for orchestra, a canticle for soprano, chorus and string orchestra, an elegy for soprano and string orchestra, a missa brevis, and many chamber and solo works. Recently Brown completed a piano quintet, a 17 movement work for solo piano, and his second and third suites for solo cello. He has taken a particular interest in pedagogical works, writing seven books of student pieces for piano, as well as, a book each for violin and flute. He has had many works performed at orchestral and solo concerts.
Performances include those by Erich Kunzel and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver and Victoria Symphony Orchestras and the Sidney Classical Orchestra in Sidney, British Columbia, of which he is the artistic director and conductor.
Besides his love of classical music, he takes an active interest in early jazz, country, and blues, singing and playing piano and guitar with Stephen Brown and the Bastion Band in Victoria, British Columbia.
Academic Experience
Theory and Composition Faculty Head of the Victoria Conservatory of Music 1995 - Present.
- Designed a new theory syllabus and exam system and successfully oversaw its implementation.
- Revitalized the department by choosing new, highly qualified staff members, each with a speciality that enhanced the VCM's appeal. These new staff members have taken an active roll in the VCM 's development and future.
- Introduced an Electro-Acoustic (MIDI) Studio directed by Wes Wraggett which allowed the VCM to reach out to a broader student body. This also benefited the VCM by providing an in-house recording engineer.
- Created a Composition Department that has attracted many fine students that have won provincial and national awards in composition contests.
- Introduced, along with my teachers, many new courses that include Composition, Figured Bass, Improvisation, Orchestration and Arranging, Orchestral Score Reading, Percussion, Sixteenth Century Counterpoint, Middle Ages Choral Singing, Structural Hearing-Schenker, Tuning and Temperament, MIDI Courses, and an A.R.C.T. in Composition and Theory.
- Introduced composition concerts and workshops.
- Introduced Theory by Correspondence, which has attracted students throughout Canada and the world.
- Introduced Composition Awards for Awards Day.
Other Teaching Experience
- Victoria Conservatory of Music, Camosun Programme, Theory , 1998-Present
- Victoria Conservatory of Music , Teacher Training Programme, Theory, 1996-Present
- Theory, Composition and Jazz, 1993-2004, Piano Summer School at The Victoria Conservatory and The University of Victoria
- Victoria Conservatory of Music, Staff Teacher, Theory, 1992-1995
- Dave's Keyboard Centre, Piano and Theory, 1991-1994
- Private Studio, Toronto, Ont. and Sidney, B.C., Piano, Guitar and Theory, 1976-1995
Other Academic Experience
- Senior Examination Designer, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, 1995 - Present, RCM Harmony, Counterpoint, Analysis, Grades III-V, and A.R.C.T. Composition and/or Theory. Has designed 134 examinations since 1995
- Senior Theory Examination Designer and Marker, Victoria Conservatory of Music, 1996 - Present. Has designed 211 examinations since 1996
- Adjudicator - composition, Alberta Provincial Music Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, 2010
- Syllabus Design Consultant, Harmony, Counterpoint, Analysis, and Bibliography, for the 2009 revision of the Theory and Composition Syllabus, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto
- Adjudicator, BCRMTA Mid-Island Composers Competition, Nanaimo, B.C., 2006
- Adjudicator, Jean Coulthard Composition Competition, Victoria, B.C., 2005
- Adjudicator, BCRMTA Mid-Island Composers Competition, Nanaimo, B.C., 2005
- Lecturer, "Applied Theory", Piano Summer School, University of Victoria, B.C., 2003
- Lecturer, "Tips for Tops", Piano Summer School, University of Victoria, B.C., 2002
- Member, College of Examiners, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, 2002-2007
- Adjudicator, Jean Coulthard Composition Competition, Victoria, B.C., 2002
- Jury Member, British Columbia Arts Council, Composition Awards, 2001
- Syllabus Design Consultant and proof reader for the 2002 revision of the Theory and Composition Syllabus, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto
- Lecturer, "Rudiments Through the Eyes of a Composer", Piano Summer School, University of Victoria, B.C., 2001
- Committee Member, United Nations Convention on The Rights of the Child Composition Contest, 1999 A local awareness initiative sponsored by The Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children, Victoria, B.C.
- Consultant and Proofreader, harmony textbook for The Frederick Harris Music Company, 1999
- Critique, Theory Examination System, all levels, all subjects, for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, 1998
- Lecturer, "My Compositional Experiences", Piano Summer School, Victoria, B.C., 1998
- Conductor, VCM Senior Student Orchestra, 1997-1998
- Jury Member, British Columbia Arts Council, Performance Awards, 1997
- Committee Member, Nancy Telfor Week, Victoria, B.C., 1997
- Opening Speaker and Main Clinician, Alberta Piano Teachers Annual Conference, Jasper, AB,1995
- Adjudicator, Canada Music Week Composition Contest, B.C.R.M.T.A., Victoria, B.C, 1994
- Clinician, "The Art of Teaching Theory", B.C.R.M.T.A., Port Alberni, B.C., 1994
- Clinician, Young Composers Workshop, B.C.R.M.T.A., Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Lecturer, "Things Composers Think About", B.C.R.M.T.A., Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Lecturer, "Composing Piano Music for Early Beginners", VCM, Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Featured Composer, Piano Summer School, Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Lecturer, "The Act of Composing", Piano Summer School, Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Adjudicator, Jean Coulthard Composition Competition, Victoria, B.C., 1993
- Participant, Partners in Music: A National Conference, Toronto, Ont., 1989
- Clinician, Composing in the Studio, O.R.M.T.A., Toronto, Ont., 1988
Other Administrative Experience
- Artistic Directorate member, Victoria Conservatory of Music, 2003-present
- Board President, Sidney Concert Society, 1992-present
- Artistic Director and Conductor, Sidney Classical Orchestra, 1992-present
- Executive Management Team member, Victoria Conservatory of Music, 2007-2008
- Co-director, Faculty Chamber Series, Victoria Conservatory of Music, 1997-1998
- Board Member, British Columbia Registered Music Teachers' Assc., Victoria Branch, 1992-1994
- Board Member, Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Assc., Central Toronto Branch, 1987-1989
Education
- Theory Diploma, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, 1986
- Composition Diploma, Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, 1984
- Composition and theory studies with Samuel Dolin and Anthony Dawson, piano with James Anagnoson and William Vaisey, guitar with Norbert Kraft, recorder with Maria Grunsky, and conducting with Eugene Kash
Professional Affiliations
- Victoria Conservatory of Music, 1994-Present
- Sidney and North Saanich Arts Council, 1992-Present
- Sidney Concert Society, 1992-Present
- Royal Canadian Legion, 1992-Present
- Canadian Registered Music Teachers' Assc., Ont. and B.C., 1986-Present
- SOCAN (was PRO Canada), 1982-Present
- SODRAC, 1982-Present
- American Federation of Musicians, Toronto, Ont. and Victoria, B.C. Branches, 1976-Present
Theory by Correspondence (Distance Learning)
Stephen Brown has extensive experience as a theory and composition teacher. He is a senior examination designer for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and the Theory and Composition Faculty Head at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he oversees the designing and marking of all theoretical examinations. Also at the Victoria Conservatory, he has taught classes in all the theoretical subjects, has many private students in theory and composition, and is the Camosun College instructor in harmony, counterpoint and analysis. For further information on Stephen's qualifications please see the Academic Experience section of this page.
If you wish to study theory by correspondence (distance learning) with Stephen Brown the following courses may be taken in preparation for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto examinations:
Rudiments Complete (this includes Preliminary Rudiments, Grade 1 Rudiments, and Grade 2 Rudiments), Pre Harmony and Harmony 3, Harmony 4, Harmony 5, Counterpoint 4, and Analysis 5.
Fees: $600 per course, plus a Victoria Conservatory of Music yearly registration fee, plus a Materials Fee (which includes postage and handling), plus any necessary textbooks (usually obtained by the student). Materials Fees depend on courses applied for and the background of the student.
Rudiments Complete, Harmony, Counterpoint and Analysis courses are equal to 30 private lessons, each 1/2 hour long, at $20 per lesson ($40 an hour), which is the equivalent of a two semester (one year) course. The complete course and assignments are mailed after registration. Assignments are submitted by mail and/or email. Assignments will be marked within a week, excluding the traditional holidays and the instructor's summer holiday, and returned by mail and/or email. The instructor is available for consultation by email or telephone most mornings. Correspondence students have two years to complete a course from their registration date.
The usual Material Fees for the above courses are:
Rudiments Complete: $10. Harmony, Counterpoint and Analysis courses: $30 for first course taken, $20 for each subsequent course.
Equivalent levels of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Associated Board of Royal Music Schools (AB) and Conservatory Canada theory courses are also available.
Courses are also available in Orchestration, Traditional Composition (Renaissance Counterpoint, Baroque Harmony and Counterpoint which includes fugal composition, Classical Harmony and Counterpoint which includes sonata composition, Romantic Harmony and Counterpoint which includes lieder composition and various lyric piano forms) and Post 1900 Composition (Debussy to the present). Fees for these courses vary and are usually based on an hourly rate of $60, plus a Victoria Conservatory of Music yearly registration fee, plus a Materials Fee, plus the necessary textbooks. The above courses may prepare a student for the ARCT in Composition and/or Theory.
All fees are in Canadian dollars.
Please direct inquiries to:
Stephen Brown
Theory and Composition Faculty Head
Victoria Conservatory of Music
900 Johnson Street
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada V8V 3N4
Telephone: (250) 386-5311 ext. 256
Toll-free in Canada and the United States 1-866-386-5311 ext 256
Fax: (250) 386-6602
email: stephen@vcm.bc.ca