Professor Jonathan Stephens
Professor of Music and Music Education, Director of Music and Head of Aesthetic Education
BA (Hons), MMus, PhD, PGCE
Personal Details
| Telephone: | +44 (0)1224 274558 |
| E-mail: | j.p.stephens@abdn.ac.uk |
| Address: | Room 007 Department of Music School of Education University of Aberdeen MacRobert Building King’s College Aberdeen Scotland UK AB24 5UA |
Biography
Jonathan Stephens studied music at the University of Wales, gaining BA (Hons) and MMus degrees, as well as a postgraduate teaching certificate in music and English literature. In 1979 he was awarded a PhD in composition and musicology. His compositions have been performed in the UK, Scandinavia, the USA and Canada, and include two works for the late Elisabeth Klein - an international concert pianist and former pupil of Béla Bartók. During the past twenty-five years, Dr Stephens has been a regular international conference speaker, lecturer, workshop leader and consultant on music and arts education. He has taught in universities and conservatoires and participated in conferences in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Asia – lecturing and advising on a range of topics, including aspects of music and music education; integrated arts; creativity; improvisation and composition; and contemporary music and its notation (the subject of his doctoral thesis). His articles, papers and book chapters have been published in many countries and languages. In 1993, Dr Stephens was awarded a personal professorship in music and music education (the third such in the UK for music education) for his institutional, national and international contribution to curriculum development, research, publication, teaching and consultancy activities in music and arts education. Professor Stephens has developed collaborative activities with institutions in many parts of the world, encouraged a range of staff development opportunities, and undertaken short residencies and consultancies in a number of universities internationally. He has been external examiner for several UK higher education institutions since 1986, and has examined Masters and Doctoral theses in musicology, composition, and music education in the UK, Scandinavia and Canada. Since the early 1980s, Professor Stephens has been involved in several national and international committees and professional associations. He was Chairman (1988-92) of the Commission for Music in Schools and Teacher Education of the International Society for Music Education (ISME); a founder member (1990) and British representative (1990-2000) of the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) - currently the Scottish representative; President (1997-99) of the international Research Alliance of Institutions for Music Education (RAIME); Member (2000-2002; re-elected 2002-2004) of the ISME Board; Member (2002-2005; re-elected 2007-2009) of the Music in Education Section Committee (MES) of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM-UK); Member (2004-2009) of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Youth Orchestras (NAYO); Member (2009-2010) of the Board of NAYO; and Member (2004-2010) of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Music Education (IJME). Professor Stephens became Warden Elect of the ISM MES Committee and Member of the ISM Executive Committee and ISM Council in 2009, and is due to take up the position of Warden of the ISM MES Committee in April 2010 for the period 2010-2011.Research Interests
Composition; musicology (music notation); music education - including creativity, improvisation and composition, musicianship, curriculum development, philosophy, music in higher education, music and professional identity.Current Research
Intercultural competence; professional knowledge for music educators; music in the curriculum; music and metaphor; composition. Current PhD student (with Scandinavian Department): Music in Scandinavia, 1900-1950.Collaborations
'Professional Knowledge in Music Teacher Education' - international research group, coordinated from Örebro University, SwedenTeaching Responsibilities
BMus, MMus, PhD, BMus Ed, BEd Primary, PGDE PrimaryExternal Responsibilities
ISME (1982-continuing); ISM (1989-continuing); EAS (1990-continuing); RAIME (1995-continuing); Member (2002-2005; 2007-2009) of ISM MES Committee; Evaluator (2004-2008) for ESRC/TLRP music research project: Learning to perform – based at Royal College of Music, London; NAYO Executive Committee (2004-2009) and Board (2009-2010); IJME Editorial Board (2004-2010); Member (2005-continuing) of Professors of Music Scotland (POMS); Honorary Collaborative Professor (2005-continuing), School of Music, University of Alicante, Spain; POMS Editorial and Peer Review Board (2006-continuing) for Scottish Music Review – a yearbook-style, web-based publication; Warden Elect (2009) / Warden (April 2010-April 2011) of ISM MES Committee; Member (2009-2011) of ISM Executive Committee and ISM CouncilComposition performances
Music Composition performances (2001 onwards) in the UK, Scandinavia, USA and Canada include: "When you are old" (setting of WB Yeats for SATB choir, piano and strings) - Mississauga and Toronto, Canada (May and June 2001); 4 Guitar Studies - Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (October 2004); Laudate Dominum: suite for organ - St Andrew’s Church, Aberdeen (May 2006), and performances by Roger Williams in King’s College, Aberdeen (20 November 2007 and various services / events subsequently); Paisley Abbey (26 January 2008); King’s College, Cambridge (1 November 2008); 49th Annual Conference of the Scottish Federation of Organists, King’s College Chapel, University of Aberdeen (9 May 2009); and Ripon Cathedral (21 May 2009). First performance (by Roger Williams) of Paean for organ, in King’s College, Aberdeen (11 November 2008; second performance in King’s College, Aberdeen, 17 November 2009); performances by international concert organist, Kevin Bowyer, of Laudate Dominum and Paean at New Glasgow Harmonies Festival (scheduled in 2010).Central Publications
- Stephens, JP. Knowledge in practice, Chapter, 2012, Professional knowledge in music teacher education
- Stephens, JP. Laudate Dominum, Performance, 2012
- Stephens, JP. Paean, Composition, 2012
- Stephens, JP. Paean, Performance, 2012
- Stephens, JP. & Esteve-Faubel, JM. The Perception of Stability in Atonal Music in Teenagers with No Musical Experience, Article, 2012, Music Perception, ISSN/ISBN: 0730-7829
- Stephens, JP. Winds of change, Chapter, 2012, Companion to Recent Scottish Music
- Stephens, JP., Esteve-Faubel , JM. & Molina-Valero, M. A quantitative assessment of students' experiences of studying music, Article, 2011, British Journal of Music Education, ISSN/ISBN: 0265-0517
- Stephens, JP. Intercultural competence, Chapter, 2010, Research Studies in Music Education, 3, pp227 - 246
- Stephens, JP. The isle is full of noises, Article, 2010, ISM Music Journal, 77, 1, pp10 - 10, ISSN/ISBN: 0951-5135
- Esteve Faubel, J-M., Molina Valero, MA. & Stephens, JP. A qualitative assessment of students' experiences of studying music, Article, 2009, Music Education Research, 11, 2, pp241 - 265, ISSN/ISBN: 1461-3808
- Stephens, JP. Laudate Dominum, Performance, 2008
- Stephens, JP. Paean, Performance, 2008
- Stephens, JP. A musical life, Chapter, 2007, Festschrift for Borje Stalhammar (Kunskapens konst - Vanbok till Borje Stalhammar), pp285 - 312
- Stephens, JP. Different Weather, Article, 2007, Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 6, 2
- Stephens, JP. False relations, Chapter, 2006, Music and Human Beings, pp137 - 161
- Stephens, JP. A voice in every wind..., Chapter, 2005, A Celebration of Voices, pp247 - 252
- Stephens, JP. Music education as I see it, Chapter, 2004, RAIME Proceedings VII , pp116 - 124
- Stephens, JP. & Dolloff, L. The changing landscape of music in the university, Chapter, 2004, RAIME Proceedings VII , pp133 - 141
- Stephens, JP. Imagination in education, Chapter, 2003, Why and how to teach music composition, pp113 - 138
- Stephens, JP. Musicianship in the twenty-first century, Chapter, 2003, Musicianship in the 21st century , pp279 - 293