Stephen Paulus

Stephen Paulus
Paulus in 2011
Born(1949-08-24)August 24, 1949
Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedOctober 19, 2014(2014-10-19) (aged 65)
Arden Hills, Minnesota, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMacalester College, University of Minnesota
OccupationComposer
Notable workThe Postman Always Rings Twice, To Be Certain of the Dawn, Pilgrims' Hymn

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]

His best-known piece is his 1982 opera The Postman Always Rings Twice, one of several operas he composed for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which prompted The New York Times to call him "a young man on the road to big things."[4] He received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Foundation and won the prestigious Kennedy Center Friedheim Prize. He was commissioned by such notable organizations as the Minnesota Opera, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, the American Composers Orchestra, the Dale Warland Singers, the Harvard Glee Club and the New York Choral Society.[5]

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]

  1. ^ WILLIAM YARDLEY (2014-10-21). "Stephen Paulus, Classical Composer Rich in Lyricism, Dies at 65". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  2. ^ "57th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees". GRAMMY.com. The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ Kirk, Elise. L. Macy (ed.). "Stephen Paulus". Grovemusic.com. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  4. ^ Henahan, Donal; Times, Special To the New York (20 June 1982). "OPERA: 'POSTMAN ALWAYS RINS TWICE' IN ST. LOUIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Biography of Composer, Stephen Paulus". Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2006-12-15. Composer biography, from his web site (Accessed 15 December 2006)
  6. ^ "Board of Directors: Stephen Paulus". ascap.org. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.