Susan Stevens

Susan Stevens (29 January 1936 - 20 March 1985), known as Sue, was a conductor and prolific composer of Guiding songs for Girl Guides UK. She was co-founder of the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra in 1976 and founder of the Foxlease Singing Circle in 1983.

Personal life, education and work

Susan Beryl Stevens was the first child of Herbert William Thornton Jefferies & Francis Beryl Jefferies, née Smith. Her younger sister, Joanna Mary, was born in 1947. Susan married Joseph Ken Stevens in June 1957, in Norton Radstock, Somerset. They had two children. Stevens attended Bath Spa University as a mature music student in the early 1960s, before going on to complete her teacher training. Between c.1971 and 1979 she was Director of Music and Drama at The Blue School, Wells. Stevens died of breast cancer in 1985.

Memorial

A memorial service was held in Stevens' honour at Wells Cathedral, at which her arrangement of "Lead Me Lord" was sung. A collection was made in Stevens' memory, which was used to purchase an instrument, an oboe called 'Sue' which was added to CHQ's collection of musical instruments. Stevens' bequeathed the royalties from her compositions to Foxlease in the form of the ''Sue Stevens Training Bequest''. As part of this, subsidised ''Sue Stevens Summer Schools'' for leaders showing a "strong arts interest" were held at Foxlease into the 1990s.

Girl Guides

Stevens was a Girl Guide and Ranger leader, trainer and music consultant. Between 1971 and 1974 she acted as regional consultant in music and drama for South West Guiding, and from 1974 she was assistant consultant of music at Girl Guiding's national headquarters. In December 1976, together with George Odam, she established the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra at Gilwell Park, London. Stevens became the Girl Guide Association's music advisor in 1981.

Large-scale Girl Guiding events

Stevens was involved in several large-scale Girl Guiding events, including:
* 1971 - she conducted a group of one hundred Guides at Wells Cathedral for a radio broadcast, as part of an arts magazine programme.
* 1972 - she organised a medieval fair for Somerset Guides, for which she also wrote the music.
* 1977 and 1979 - she acted as assistant music consultant for Girl Guides’ Folk Fest 8 and 9 at the Royal Albert Hall.
* 1985 - to celebrate 75 years of Guiding, Stevens wrote a pageant of Cornish history and legend, together with the accompanying music. It was performed by 350 Brownies, Guides and Rangers at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall, ten days after her death.

Foxlease, Hampshire

From the late 1960s Stevens, together with Hettie Smith and Margaret Newman, organised music and guitar weekends at Foxlease, a Girl Guide training and activity centre in Hampshire. From the late 1970s, Stevens also ran ‘Music in the Pack’ courses there.

In May 1982, Stevens became Foxlease's assistant Guider-In-Charge. Having discovered that Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, after whom the main building at Foxlease was named, was a Royal Stewart, she and Guider-in-Charge Marjorie King introduced Royal Stewart tartan neckerchiefs for Foxlease staff.

In October 1983, Stevens established the Foxlease Singing Circle. She invited around 30 Guide leaders from around the UK to Foxlease for a weekend of singing, “to see whether or not it would work!” She was only able to host two weekends with the Singing Circle before she died. The group continues to meet, and some of her protégés, including Pat Belringer, Eryl Evans and Hilary Stokes, continue to write songs.

Publications

Stevens contributed articles and songs to ''Today’s Guide'' and ''The Guider'' magazines. She also published the following books:

Select compositions

Several of Stevens's songs were frequently used by schools and young people's groups in the 1980s.

Guiding songs

* ''Silver Jubilee Round'' (1976)
* Ranger Diamond Jubilee song ''Tomorrow'' (1977)
* WAGGGS Thinking Day Song (1977)
* ''Brownie Thank You'' (1977)
* ''WAGGGS Jubilee Song'' (1978)
* ''We came to Foxlease'' (1984)
* ''All Together'' (1984) WAGGGS’ 75th anniversary song

Sacred songs

* ''Jubilate Deo I'' (1968)
* ''I am the Way'' (1970)
* ''Thou Wilt Keep Him'' (1970)
* ''Lo, How A Rose'' (1971)
* ''Matthew, Mark, Luke and John'' (1973)
* ''Gloria In Excelsis Deo'' (1973)
* ''Gloria'' (1974)
* ''Psalm 139'' (1974)
* ''At the Ending of the Day'' (1975)
* ''Christ our only Saviour'' (1976)
* ''Dona Nobis Pacem'' (1976)
* ''God Be With You'' (1976)
* ''Spring belongs to Little Things'' (1976)
* ''I will Lift Up Mine Eyes'' (1977)
* ''Merry Bells'' (1977)
* ''Vesper'' (1977)
* ''Alleluia!'' (1978)
* ''Winter Thank You'' (1980)
* ''Ding! Dong! Alleluia'' (1980)
* ''Blest Creator'' (1981)
* ''The Colours of Christmas'' (1982)
* ''Lord, we Give Thee Thanks'' (1982)
* ''Long Ago'' (1983)

Rounds

* ''For Friends and Homes and Happy Days'' (1973)
* ''Goodbye'' (1973)
* ''Spring Round'' (1976)
* ''Humming Song'' (1978)
* ''Dubi du'' (1982)

Other songs

* ''Come Sailing'' (1968)
* ''Little Bus'' (1973)
* ''Promises'' (1973)
* ''Somewhere There’s A Forest'' (1974)
* ''All over the World'' (1975)
* ''Wandering Wind'' (1979)
* ''Look Up to the Sky'' (1979)
* ''Song for International Year of the Child'' (1979)
* ''Just for You'' (1980)
* ''Come Away to the Hills'' (1981)
* ''Clap Hands'' (1981)
* ''Tails'' (1981)
* ''Let’s Celebrate'' (1982)
* ''Sing Along Song'' (1982)
* ''Follow the Sun'' (1984)
* ''The Carnival''
* ''One Day''
* ''Quietly''
* ''Many Years Ago''
* ''The New Generation''
* ''Softly''

In 1972 she provided the music for a TV show that aired on Harlech Television about the Tudor period, with author and restorer John Mills.

Recordings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Susan
1936 births
1985 deaths
Girlguiding
Alumni of Bath Spa University
Musicians from Bristol
English women music educators
British music educators
Girlguiding officials
Deaths from breast cancer in England