Stephen Paulus (August 24, 1949 – October 19, 2014) was an American Grammy Award winning[2]composer, best known for his operas and choral music. His style is essentially tonal, and melodic and romantic by nature.[3]
Paulus was a passionate advocate for the works and careers of his colleagues. He co-founded the American Composers Forum in 1973, the largest composer service organization in the U.S., and served as the Symphony and Concert Representative on the ASCAP Board of Directors from 1990 until his death (from complications following a stroke in July 2013) in 2014.[6]
Paulus was born in Summit, New Jersey, but his family moved to Minnesota when he was two.[7] After graduating from Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, MN, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Paul Fetler and eventually earned a PhD in composition in 1978. By 1983, he was named the composer-in-residence at the Minnesota Orchestra, and in 1988 he was also named to the same post at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, whose then-conductor Robert Shaw commissioned numerous choral works from Paulus for Shaw's eponymous vocal ensemble. After the premiere of his second opera, The Postman Always Rings Twice, he began a fruitful collaboration with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis that would result in four more operas.[3] In 1997, he was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association.[8]
In a career which encompassed more than forty years of composition his output came to include over 450 works for chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble, opera, solo voice, piano, guitar, organ, and band. Paulus lived in the Twin Cities area.
On July 4, 2013, Paulus suffered a stroke. He died from medical complications on October 19, 2014, aged 65.[9][10]
Paulus's output was eclectic and varied, incorporating works for chorus, orchestra, solo singer, and various combinations thereof. His choral music represented his most diverse body of work, ranging from elaborate multi-part works like Visions from Hildegard to brief anthems and a cappellamotets.
Paulus's most popular works may be two short choral anthems, one religious, "Pilgrims' Hymn," and a non-religious but far from nakedly secular composition, "The Road Home." "Pilgrims' Hymn" was part of a one-act opera, The Three Hermits, commissioned by the House of Hope Presbyterian Church of St. Paul, MN, where it premiered in 1997. "The Road Home" was commissioned by Minnesota's Dale Warland Singers in 2001 and is based on an original tune found in the 1835 Southern Harmony Songbook. Both represent Paulus's frequent work with the poet Michael Dennis Browne, Browne and Paulus working back and forth with words and music until they had given each composition a gem-like sheen. "Pilgrims' Hymn" is a favorite of church choirs and choral groups worldwide, while "The Road Home" appears on the programs of countless high school and concert choirs everywhere. YouTube amply documents many performances of each work.[11][12]
Paulus was well known for his operas, which are often described as "dramatic and lyrical" and are notable for "lush" orchestra writing.[3] Paulus's operas include:
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2009), written for Lynn Harrell[23]
Double Concerto for Piano and Organ with Strings and Percussion (listed as "in preparation" in 2010 ; possibly unfinished at the composer's death in 2014)[13]
^McLellan, Joseph. "On Center Stage: The Neoromantics", The Washington Post, October 29, 2008. Accessed February 19, 2011. "Coincidentally or not, all four of this year's finalists were born on the East Coast, though Stephen Paulus (represented by his Violin Concerto) has spent his career in Minneapolis. Paulus was one of the three Friedheim finalists born in the New York area-Summit, N.J. [George Rochberg] was born in Paterson, N.J., in 1918 and Joan Tower, composer of 'Silver Ladders,' was born in New Rochelle in 1938."
