Registered Charity No 1063925
Stephen Plews was born in Salford, UK, in 1961.
It was not until 1994, however, that he decided to pursue music as his
career. He has since developed the twin strands of jazz artist and
classical composer, with his music in both fields influenced by his
knowledge of the other.
Winner of the Peter Whittingham Award for Composition, in 1994, and of
two large Arts Council touring grants for his jazz ensemble Ascension
in 1995 and 1996 respectively, Stephen has released four well-
CDs under his own name and contributed to three compilations of
Contemporary British Music.
As well as his skills as a composer Stephen is a champion of new music.
He set up his studio and label ASC Records to promote artists in the
fields of contemporary classical and jazz musics; the distinguished
roster has included Mike Westbrook, Keith Tippett, John McCabe, the
Northern Chamber Orchestra and Alan Barnes.
For an exhaustive catalogue with online ordering facilities, see:
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Steve Plews is able to compose in a variety of styles yet manages to
retain his own sense of identity. He has composed for jazz and classical
ensembles, as well as writing music for corporate media, dance,
television and theatre. He has had music funded by the Ida Carroll Trust and
has recently been commissioned to write a double bass concerto for Dan
Styffe -
Steve's composition The Future of an Illusion (in three movements;
Benign, Malignant, The Possibility of Hope) was recently recorded by the
New World Ensemble for the Campion CD 'Face to Face'.
Hubert Culot writes of this work
"There follows what may be regarded as the slow movement.
The mood here is of sorrow and sadness, and the music “occasionally
fades to almost nothing. This movement is one of the most moving
musical elegies that I have ever heard...This substantial work,
beautifully scored for strings, is undoubtedly a deeply sincere utterance that I
find quite moving."
