ISM honours music education pioneer

John Stephens OBE Photo: Mark Thompson

John Stephens is only the second music educator to receive the award, whose previous recipients have included Jacqueline du Pré, Pierre Boulez, Sir Simon Rattle, Dame Janet Baker and Sir Mark Elder. The award has been presented since 1976 and rewards an 'outstanding contribution to British musical life'.

John Stephens has been at the forefront of developments in music education for more than 50 years. Beginning as a teacher in Hampshire and Essex, he became Music Adviser in Shropshire and joined Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 1968. There he helped to develop the Schools Council Music Project directed by John Paynter at York University.

As Staff Inspector for Music at the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), John Stephens led a large team of teachers and musicians and succeeded in opening up many of London's concert halls and opera houses to young audiences.

He was instrumental in setting up the education programmes of the Royal Opera House and Wigmore Hall and in the 1990s he shaped the recommendations of the National Curriculum for Music and played a key part in establishing Youth Music. He was President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians in 2001-02 and in 1999 was honoured with the OBE for his services to music education.

ISM President Kenneth Ian Hÿtch said:

'John Stephens is not a household name and there will be thousands who are unaware of the debt of gratitude they owe to his determination to put music securely at the centre of education and make it accessible to all.

'It is timely, in this year in which the ISM is focusing strongly on education, that John should receive this important distinction from his fellow musicians and music educators whom he has served selflessly for so long.'

John Stephens said:

'I am deeply honoured by this award that I accept on behalf of all the music teachers I have worked with over a lifetime in music education.

'Music educators have always worked closely with their professional musician colleagues and this award marks the importance given to their work by the ISM that represents all sectors of music and music-making.

'It is a powerful partnership, and one that, in the present political climate of threatened cuts in public spending, politicians should not underestimate.' 

Notes to editors

1. The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK's professional body for musicians. We promote the art of music and the interests of professional musicians through campaigns, support and practical advice. We are a wholly independent non profit making organisation founded in 1882. Without political interference or financial imperatives we express robust and authoritative views which champion both music and professional musicians. Our members come from all branches of the profession – performers, composers, teachers, music therapists, academics and advisers. We also have other levels of membership for students and those just starting out in the profession as well as for bodies such as schools, conservatoires and orchestras and those who simply want to support our work as advocates of music.

2. A biography of John Stephens is below. Photographs are available from Callum Thomson.

Contact

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John Stephens OBE

Biography

After a successful teaching career in Hampshire and Essex, John Stephens was appointed County Music Adviser for Shropshire where he established the County School of Music and the Shropshire Schools' Orchestra. Believing fervently in the importance of working with composers, he commissioned a number of works for children from interested composers of the day, including Gordon Crosse, Peter Dickinson and Tony Hewitt-Jones. He joined Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 1968 where he had an assignment in the south of England and, at national level, for supporting the development of the Schools Council Music Project directed by John Paynter at York University.

Stephens subsequently joined the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as Staff Inspector for Music, where he led a very large team of teachers and musicians. At ILEA he sought to open up the capital's concert halls and opera houses to young audiences and to provide more opportunities for musicians to work in schools. In the formative days of the education programme of the Royal Opera House he chaired the Opera Education Committee. On the board of the Wigmore Hall he supported the initiation of its education programme.

Continuing his interest in commissioning young composers, Stephens secured a commission from ILEA for George Benjamin to write a work for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. He played an important part in broadening and developing the work of ILEA's Centre for Young Musicians, from which thousands of young musicians have benefitted. He has had a similarly vast impact upon the continuing professional development musicians and teachers across the country.

As Vice-Chairman of the Music Working Group for the National Curriculum, he had a very considerable influence in shaping the recommendations for the National Curriculum in Music. He later worked with a small team and with great skill to avert a distortion and dilution of those recommendations by the Secretary of State before they first became law in 1992.

At the invitation of the then Principal, Philip Jones, he joined the staff of Trinity College of Music to develop its role in education activities and then, under Gavin Henderson, to establish the lottery-funded charity, Youth Music of which he was a founding Trustee.

John Stephens sustains an active interest in music education, serving on the London Symphony Orchestra's Education Advisory Committee and on the boards of LSO Productions and the Britten Sinfonia. He was President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians in 2001-02 and in 1999 was honoured with the OBE for his services to music education.

ISM Distinguished Musician Award

In 1976 the ISM established an award to recognise an 'outstanding contribution to musical life in the UK'. Previous recipients of the Distinguished Musician Award are:

• Sir Alexander Gibson CBE 1976
• Sir William Walton OM 1977
• Sir Peter Pears CBE 1978
• Sir Adrian Boult CH 1979
• Sir James Galway OBE 1979
• Jacqueline du Pré OBE 1980
• Janet Craxton (posthumous) 1981
• Sir Michael Tippett OM CH CBE 1982
• Sir Reginald Goodall CBE 1983
• Sir Charles Groves CBE 1984
• Sir Simon Rattle CBE 1986
• Norman Del Mar CBE 1990
• Witold Lutoslawski 1991
• Julian Bream CBE 1993
• Sir Colin Davis CBE 1995
• George Malcolm CBE 1996
• Christopher Hogwood CBE 1997
• Sir David Willcocks  CBE MC 1998
• Dame Fanny Waterman DBE 2000
• Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE 2001
• Sir Charles Mackerras AC CH CBE 2002
• John McCabe CBE 2003
• Sir Malcolm Arnold CBE 2004
• Pierre Boulez 2005
• Dame Evelyn Glennie DBE 2006
• Dame Janet Baker CH DBE 2007
• Sir Mark Elder CBE 2008

Downloads

• Download this media release as a PDF
• Download John Stephens' acceptance speech (PDF)