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Montague, Stephen (b. March 10, 1943, Syracuse, New York). American-born British composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, choral, piano, and electroacoustic works that have been performed throughout the world; he is also active as a conductor and pianist.
Mr. Montague was an Associate of Arts at St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida in 1964 and studied at Florida State University, where he earned his BMus in piano with honors in 1965 and his MMus in analysis and music theory in 1967. He also received a certificate in conducting from the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1966 and earned his DMA in composition at Ohio State University in 1972. He then studied electronic music at Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire in 1972, on a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, and composition at the Frédéric Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and the Experimental Music Studio of Polish Radio from 1972-74, on a Fulbright Fellowship.
Among his many honors are the London Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Music (1988) and First Prize in the Concours International de Musique Électroacoustique de Bourges (1994, for String Quartet No. 1: in memoriam Barry Anderson and Tomasz Sikorski). He has also received the Ernst von Dohnányi Citation for Excellence in Composition in the USA (1995) and the Distinction Award from the Ars Electronica Prix in Linz (1996, for String Quartet No. 1: in memoriam Barry Anderson and Tomasz Sikorski). In addition, he was named to the Composers' Hall of Fame by the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday (1996), received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Ohio State University (2000) and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music in London (2001) and the Leeds College of Music (2004). His music has been featured prominently at numerous festivals, including the Cambridge Music (2000), and more than twenty portrait concerts have been given in Europe.
He is also active in other positions. A talented tennis player, he was the Florida State Junior College Tennis Champion in 1962. He served as chairman of the Society for the Promotion of New Music in London from 1993-97 and as its artistic director in 1998-99 and served as the composer-in-association to the Orchestra of St. Johns, Smith Square in London from 1995-97. In addition, he served as artistic consultant to the Inventing America Festival at the Barbican Centre in London from 1995-98 and as featured composer to the Orchestra of St. Johns' City of Oxford Residency in 1997-98 and the Mixing Music Series in Bromsgrove/Birmingham in 1998-99. He has written numerous articles for journals and magazines in the UK, as well as for the New Grove Dictionaries. As a pianist, he has performed with numerous ensembles since 1974, including Montague/Mead Piano Plus and Singcircle.
He has lectured widely and taught as a guest professor of composition at the University of Texas in Austin in 1992, 1995 and 2000 and at the University of Auckland in 1997.
He lived in Poland from 1972-74 and has lived in the UK since 1974.
United Music Publishers publishes his music.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: SRMontague@aol.com
Street address: Mr. Stephen Montague, 2 Ryland Rd., London NW5 3EA, UK
Telephone/fax: + 4420 7267 5416
E-mail address for consulting scores: info@ump.co.uk
Website: http://www.ump.co.uk
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE: Largo con moto (ballet), dancer, tape, 1975; Into the Sun (ballet), prepared piano, percussion, 4-track tape, 1977; Median (ballet), orchestra, 1984 (incorporates From the White Edge of Phrygia and Prologue)
ORCHESTRAL: Voussoirs, orchestra, tape, 1970-72; Sound Round, orchestra, live electronics, 1973; Strummin', piano (with red light), string orchestra, tape, 1974-81; At the White Edge of Phrygia, small orchestra, 1983 (also version as From the White Edge of Phrygia, orchestra, 1984; second version also incorporated into ballet Median); Prologue, 1984 (also incorporated into ballet Median); Dark Sun, large amateur orchestra, 1995; Snakebite, small orchestra, 1995; Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, 1997; A Toy Symphony, 6 amateur players, small orchestra, 1999; March Militaire, symphonic band, 1999; Deep in the Vaults of Earth, symphonic band, tape, 2001; Snowscape: St. Pölten, string orchestra, 2001; Intrada 1631, small orchestra (brass ensemble, percussion), 2001; Junk Concerto, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 trumpets, 2 amateur percussion ensembles, string orchestra, 2001-02; Disparate Dances, flute, harp, small orchestra, 2002
CHAMBER MUSIC: The Eyes of Ambush, any 5 players, 1973; Caccia, amplified trombone, amplified piano, tape, 1974; Quiet Washes, 3 trombones, 3 harps/3 pianos, 1974; E pluribus unum, any ensemble, 1976; Eine kleine Klangfarben Gigue, any keyboard instrument, any ensemble, 1976; Paramell I, muted trombone, muted piano, 1977; Paramell II: Entity, prepared piano, 5 percussion, 1977; Paramell IV, bass trombone/tuba, tape, 1979; Gravity's Rainbow, flute, tape, live electronics, 1980; Paramell VI, piano, ensemble (flute, clarinet, cello/percussion), 1981; Mouth of Anger, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, tape, live electronics, 1981-83; Aeolian Furies, accordion, 1992; Behold a Pale Horse, organ, ensemble (2 French horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba), 1992 (version of organ work); Vlug, flute, tape, live electronics, 1992; String Quartet No. 1: in memoriam Barry Anderson and Tomasz Sikorski, string quartet, tape, live electronics, 1989-93; String Quartet No. 2, 'Sháman', string quartet, tape, live electronics, 1992-93; Hong Kong Polymix, ensemble, tape, 1993; Silence: John, Yvar and Tim, prepared piano, prepared string quartet, 2 tapes, live electronics, 1994; Kristallnacht, 4 wine glass choruses, 1998; Chew Chow Chatterbox, 4 percussion, 1998; Thule Ultima, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1999; Black 'n Blues, piano 4 hands, marimba, pillow, 2000; Philup Glass – a Lullaby for Wine Glasses, 2 players, 2001; Folk Dances, violin, piano, 2002
CHORAL: Varshavian Spring, mixed chorus, ensemble, 1973, revised 1983; Sotto voce, mixed chorus, live electronics, 1976; Tigida Pipa, amplified mixed voices (+ woodblocks, claves), tape, 1983; Boombox Virelai, countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass, 1992; Varshavian Autumn, mixed chorus, small orchestra, 1995; The Carnal and the Crane, soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, brass, organ, string orchestra, 1998 (a version for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, organ, orchestra was also incorporated into Christmas Triptych); When Dreams Collide, speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 2001; Christmas Triptych, soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, harp, organ, orchestra, 2001 (incorporates versions of The Carnal and the Crane and Cantique de Noël; one section may be performed separately: I Wonder, soprano, mixed chorus, harp, organ, orchestra [also version for soprano, mixed chorus, harp, organ, string orchestra, 2002])
VOCAL: 3 Iberian Sketches, soprano, piano, 1970; Inundations II: Willow, soprano, piano, tape, 1976; Three Temperance Songs, voice, ensemble, tape, 1987; Wild Nights, soprano, clarinet, viola, piano, 1993; The Creatures Indoors, speaker, orchestra, 1997; Texas Pulp Fiction, 3 speakers (all + percussion), 2000
PIANO: Paramell III, piano, humming audience, 1981; Paramell V, 2 pianos, 1981 (also version as Paramell Va, piano, 1981); Haiku, piano, tape, live electronics, 1987; Tongues of Fire, piano (+ stones), tape, live electronics, 1983-93; After Ives..., piano, ensemble ad libitum (flute, string quartet), tape, live electronics, 1991-93; Mirabella: A Tarantella, toy piano, 1995; Mira, 1995; Southern Lament, 1997; Tsunami, 1997; Four Hours to Midnight: the Last Piece of the 20th Century, 1999; Five Easy Pieces, 1998-2003; Autumn Leaves, 2000-03
ORGAN: Behold a Pale Horse, 1990 (also version for organ, ensemble [2 French horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba])
HARPSICHORD: Phrygian Tucket, harpsichord, tape, 1993; Dark Train, 2001
ELECTROACOUSTIC: Scythia, tape, 1981; Slow Dance on a Burial Ground, tape, 1983-84; Bright Interiors I (sound installation), 8-track tape, 1992 (music for sculpture Colourspace by Maurice Agis); Bright Interiors II (sound installation), 16-track tape, 1996 (music for giant inflatable sculpture Dreamspace by Maurice Agis); Synthetic Swamp, 4-/8-track tape, 1974-2000; Bright Interiors III (sound installation), 2000 (music for giant inflatable sculpture Dreamspace by Maurice Agis)
MULTIMEDIA: Horn Concerto, klaxon horn, 20 automobiles, 1998; Beach, Band and Bolder (environmental work), 1000 players, 1998; Green Bridge Horn Concerto, klaxon horn, orchestra (automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians), 2000; Abbey Mode: a Sound & Light Event, dance troupe, masked mixed chorus, organ, bell ringers, symphonic band, large orchestra, lights, film projections, 2003
ARRANGEMENTS: Cantique de Noël (Adolphe Adam), soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, brass, organ, string orchestra, 1996 (a version for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, organ, orchestra was also incorporated into Christmas Triptych); I Wonder as I Wander (John Jacob Niles), soprano, mixed chorus, harp, string orchestra, 1997
DISCOGRAPHY
Slow Dance on a Burial Ground; Paramell I; Paramell Va. James Fulkerson, trombone; Stephen Montague, piano, live electronics (Lovely Music: VR2041, 1984) (LP)
Haiku. Philip Mead, piano (Unknown Public: upcd 03, 1993)
From the White Edge of Phrygia; String Quartet No. 1: in memoriam Barry Anderson and Tomasz Sikorski; Haiku; Tigida Pipa. Philip Mead, piano; Smith Quartet; Gregory Rose/Singcircle; Jahja Ling/Florida Orchestra (Continuum: CCD 1061, 1994)
String Quartet No. 1: in memoriam Barry Anderson and Tomasz Sikorski. Stephen Montague, live electronics; Smith Quartet (CIME: LDC 278058/59, 1995)
Paramell VI. Relâche Ensemble (Monroe Street: MSM 60102, 1997)
Silence: John, Yvar and Tim. Philip Mead, prepared piano; Smith Quartet (Centaur: CRC 2347, 1997)
Mirabella: A Tarantella. Margaret Leng Tan, toy piano (Point/Philips: 465 345, 1997)
Snakebite; At the White Edge of Phrygia; Varshavian Autumn; Behold a Pale Horse (second version). John Lubbock/Orchestra and Chorus of St. Johns, Smith Square, London (ASV: DCA 991, 1997)
Mira; Tsunami. Thalia Myers, piano (NMC: D057, 1999)
Aeolian Furies. Guy Klucevsek, accordion (Starkland: ST-209, 2000)
Phrygian Tucket. Elisabeth Chojnacka, harpsichord (Opus 111: OPS 1016, 2000)
(Last updated on November 21, 2004)
