Stephen Jaffe (born December 30, 1954, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

newsobserver.com
) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

. He lives in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, United States, and serves on the music faculty of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, where he holds the post of Mary and James H. Semans Professor of Music Composition; his colleagues there include composers

Scott Lindroth Scott Allen Lindroth (born 1958) is an American composer and teacher based near Durham, North Carolina. Lindroth joined the faculty of Duke University in 1990, where he is the Vice-Provost for the Arts and the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor ...

, John Supko, and

Anthony Kelley Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants ...

. Jaffe graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1977; he received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

the following year from the same institution. During his time in Pennsylvania, he studied with

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

George Rochberg George Rochberg (July 5, 1918May 29, 2005) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serialism, serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the technique after his teenage son died in 1964, saying it had proved inadequate to expres ...

, and

Richard Wernick Richard Wernick (January 16, 1934 – April 25, 2025) was an American composer. He is best known for his chamber and vocal works. His composition ''Visions of Terror and Wonder'' won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Life and career Wernick be ...

. Jaffe's music has been performed across the United States,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and China (including the Nottingham,

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

, and

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

s) by ensembles including the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

, the R.A.I. of Rome, the

North Carolina Symphony The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Co ...

, the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

, the

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...

, the

Miami String Quartet The Miami String Quartet is an American string quartet. The group was founded in 1988 at The New World School of the Arts by John de Lancie in Miami, Florida. The Quartet was in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where all four me ...

, and the Ciompi Quartet. He has received awards and commissions, and recordings of his works are available, including a three-volume retrospective of his work ''The Music of Stephen Jaffe'' from

Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his firs ...

. Jaffe's notable students include

Jeremy Beck Jeremy Beck (born 1960) is an American composer who "knows the importance of embracing the past while also going his own way." The critic Mark Sebastian Jordan has said that "Beck was committed to tonality and a recognizable musical vernacular lo ...

Dorothy Hindman Dorothy Hindman (born March 13, 1966) is an American composer and music educator. Early life and studies Born in Miami, Florida on March 13, 1966, Hindman had intense early exposure to classical music from her mother, Dorothy Hindman Lyon, a gi ...

Penka Kouneva Penka Kouneva () (/ˈpɛŋkɑː kuːˈnɛvɑː/; born February 25, 1967, in Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian-American composer, Orchestration, orchestrator and Record producer, soundtrack producer. In 1999, she began working in film and tele ...

Caroline Mallonée Caroline Mallonée (born 1975"Caroline Mallonée," ''New Music USA'' (website), accessed 8 August 2019) is an American composer best known for her choral works. She is also the artistic director of the Creative Musicians Retreat, part of The Walden ...

, Carl Schimmel,

Amy Scurria Amy Scurria (born September 24, 1973) is an American composer. Biography Amy Scurria was born into a military family and showed an early interest in music, memorizing the piano assignments of her sister Jackie. At age 11 she took lessons under t ...

, and Nathaniel Stookey.

Awards and recognition

* Koussevitsky International Recording Award (KIRA) from the Musicians Club of New York (November 2006) – for ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra'' * Composer of the Year from the Classical Recording Society (November 2005) * Aaron Copland Foundation for Music (2002) – for ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra'' and ''Chamber Concerto ("Singing Figures")'' * Howard Foundation Fellowship from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

(1996) *

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

Lifetime Achievement Prize (May 1993) * Best Newly Published Music Citation from the

National Flute Association The National Flute Association (NFA) is an organization of flute players with roughly 5,000 members from more than 50 countries. It is an association in the United States with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The organization was founded in 1972 ...

(1991) – for ''Three Figures and a Ground'' *

Kennedy Center Friedheim Award The Kennedy Center Friedheim Award was an annual award given for instrumental music composition by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1978 and ended in 1995. The award was given only to Amer ...

(May 1991) – for ''First Quartet'', recorded by the Ciompi Quartet *

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Creative Arts Citation (May 1989) *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

(May 1984) * Composer Fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

(1981) *

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Recipients must be American citizens. Prizes have been aw ...

administered by the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

(1980) * Joseph H. Bearns Prize for ''Four Nocturnes'' (1976) * Student Composer Award from BMI (1975) – for the

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

''Three Lives'' * Premier Medaille d’harmonie from the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva (May 1972)

Major works

* ''Poetry of the Piedmont'' (2006) for orchestra – commissioned by North Carolina Symphony * ''String Quartet No. 2 (Sylvan and Aeolian Figures)'' (2005) – written for the

, commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society * ''Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra'' (2004) – premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra under

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

, with soloist David Hardy * ''Designs'' (2002) for flute, guitar and percussion – premiered at the National Arts Center of Taiwan, 2002 * ''Homage to the Breath: Instrumental and Vocal Meditations for Mezzo-soprano and Ten Instruments'' (2001) – featuring a text by

Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ (1 ...

, premiered at the Hirshhorn Museum of Art in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

* ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra'' (2000) – premiered by soloist Nicholas Kitchen with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra * ''Songs of Turning'' (1996) for chorus and orchestra * ''Chamber Concerto ("Singing Figures")'' (1996) for solo

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and chamber ensemble – recorded by

Speculum Musicae Speculum Musicae is an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in New York City in 1971 and is particularly noted for its performances of the music of Elliott Carter and Charles Wuo ...

* ''The Reassurance'' (1995) – contribution to the '' AIDS Quilt Songbook'' * ''First Quartet'' (1991) – commissioned and premiered by the Ciompi Quartet * ''Three Figures and a Ground'' (1989) for flute and piano * ''Rhythm of the Running Plough'' (1985)

References

"Language of Music Is in His Composition"
by Thomas May for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''
"Composer's life a classic tale of following one's star"
by Vicki Hyman for ''News Observer'' website
Profile
on the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

site
Profile
(containing Jaffe's residency statement) at the Atlantic Center for the Arts

The Walden School The Walden School is an organization which runs summer music education programs. It is based in Dublin, New Hampshire and has a year-round office in San Francisco, California. Since its founding in 1972, the Walden School has operated the Young ...

with Jaffe as moderator and composer-in-residence
American Works for String Quartet: Copland/Ward/Jaffe
Program notes at DRAM website {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Stephen Living people American male classical composers 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers Duke University faculty 1954 births Musicians from Washington, D.C. University of Pennsylvania alumni Pupils of George Crumb 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Awards and recognition

Major works

References

External links