About Stephen
Stephen Mitton is a composer, educator, and performer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds a master's degree in composition from Arizona State University where he studied with Jody Rockmaker, James DeMars, and Rodney Rogers, and has written socially and environmentally-conscious music for a wide variety of genres ranging from contemporary dance to full orchestra. Stephen is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and was recently selected as a finalist in ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composers’ Awards for his string quartet Caricatures. He has received commissions from various performers across the country, as well as several groups and organizations including Winona State University, Chicago Public Schools, the Arizona State University Bands and Orchestras, the Arizona State University BioDesign Institute, and the Arizona Flute Society. Much of Stephen's current work centers on championing emerging composers by facilitating commissioning projects with local ensembles and school districts through his publishing company, Leading Tones Music.
Stephen is also an active performer, with a bachelor’s degree in cello performance from Utah State University where he studied chamber music with the Fry Street Quartet. He has participated in master classes with such groups as the Emerson, Ying, and Brentano String Quartets, and has given well-received performances throughout the country. He is also the cellist and founding member of the Logan Quintet, which is scheduled to release its second full-length studio album of Stephen's arrangements in winter 2020.
Stephen is working toward his doctorate in composition at the University of Michigan where he studies with Bright Sheng and Michael Daugherty. When he is not composing or practicing, he enjoys taking walks outside with his wife Sara and their two young children.
Recent Performances
Oct 30, 2020
Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival
Virtual performance of for Pierrot ensemble and mezzo-soprano on Indiana State University's Contemporary Music Festival (winner of the ISU Music Now competition)
Mar 14, 2020
CoLab: University of Michigan
Premiere of Crimson Strata for brass quintet at the University of Michigan
Apr 14, 2019
Plastic Ocean: Communicating Crisis Through the Arts
Premiere of my third string quartet, Currents (commissioned by Amy Thacker), alongside a narrative drama about plastics pollution in Earth's oceans. Performed at Utah State University.
Nov 16, 2018
The Ear: A Composer Battle
Performance of Caricatures at the DiMenna Center, NYC in The Ear: A Composer Battle.
Jul 07, 2018
Oregon Bach Festival Composers' Symposium
Premiere of Albatross for Pierrot ensemble at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers' Symposium in Eugene, OR.
Oct 21, 2017
Flutes of a Feather
Premiere of my flute trio, Songs of the Sonoran at the Rio Salado Audubon Society. Commissioned by the Arizona Flute Society.
Apr 26, 2017
Science Exposed
Premiere of Stages, a "neuro-classical" composition about the effects of Alzheimer's disease, written in collaboration with Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.
Performances at 6:00 and 6:30 in the Biodesign Atrium at ASU.
May 24, 2017
ASU Composition Studio Recital
Premier of Parhelion septet for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Percussion in Katzin Concert Hall, Arizona State University.
Cullan Lucas, conductor
Feb 10, 2017
UNK New Music Festival XVI
Performance of Zapateado for Trumpet and Piano at the University of Nebraska at Kearney
Tim Farrell, trumpet
Thomas Prentice, piano
Nov 16, 2016
The Fire of Emerging Artists
Premiere of Chamber Symphony by the ASU Chamber Orchestras. Cullan Lucas, conductor.
Jun 11, 2016
7:30 PM
Chamber Music Institute Composers' Concert
Premiere of String Quartet No. 2 "Caricatures" at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Apr 23, 2016
12:00 PM
Phoenix Art Museum Concert
Performance of Cognitive Landscape for String Quartet at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Apr 18, 2016
7:30 PM
ASU Composition Studio Recital
Premiere of Cognitive Landscape for String Quartet at Arizona State University.
Upcoming Events
Nov 19, 2020
Let the Record Show: Imprint Series at the University of Michigan, 7:30pm EDT
Virtual performance of Albatross for Pierrot ensemble and mezzo-soprano