PETER PINDAR
STEARNS was born in New York City on 7 June 1931 of
musician parents, whose New England roots can be traced back to 1630. His
father, Theodore
Stearns, was a composer and an opera and musical comedy conductor -
well-known in the early years of the last century. His opera Snowbird,
produced in Dresden in 1924, was the first American opera to be premiered in
Europe. In addition he held regular positions as a music critic and
commentator in Chicago and New York. Stearns' mother, known professionally
as Marguerite Lamar, was a lyric soprano of note. She was a protégée of Mary
Garden and sang with the Chicago Lyric Opera Company in addition to recital
work, specializing in the French chançon. Peter's father moved the
family to Los Angeles in 1932 where he had been appointed to the music
faculty at UCLA. Peter grew up there and attended public and private schools
in the environs of Los Angeles.
He began the formal study of music theory and composition privately
with Leonard Stein at
the age of fifteen, although he had already begun to compose on his own
three years earlier. Returning to New York at the age of eighteen he
enrolled in the Mannes Music School
where he earned the Artist's Diploma in 1952. There he studied with, among
others,
Bohuslav Martinu in composition,
Felix Salzer in
theory and
Schenkerian analysis and Julia Fox in organ. In later years he was an
organ student of Jesse Walker. Upon graduation from Mannes, Stearns went
back to Los Angeles to work in the film industry, and studied there with
Miklos Rozsa. By 1954 he was back
in New York and a part of the creative life of that city. His compositions
began to appear on programs in the various concert halls of New York and
elsewhere. In 1957 he was appointed to the faculty of Mannes where he
remained for the next thirty-two years. He also taught briefly at
Yale University and at the Wykeham Rise School in Connecticut.
During his years at Mannes, Stearns was instrumental in the development
of the composition curriculum, serving fifteen years as head of the
Composition Department. In addition to composition classes and private
lessons, he has taught orchestration, theory and ear training as well as
graduate seminars in music history. His interest in the development of young
musicians led him for a time to the directorship of the Preparatory Division
of Mannes. His output of over 300 musical compositions in all media includes
seven symphonies, six string quartets, numerous other orchestral and chamber
works as well as a substantial amount of organ and choral pieces. He has
been a member of The American Composers Alliance since 1963 and served two
terms on its Admissions Committee.
Stearns has had an active auxiliary career in several related areas. As
an organist and choral director he has served various churches. He has
worked for Carl Fischer, Inc. as an editorial assistant and was Director of
Publications for Coburn Press Music Publishers for eight years. He has also
worked as an organ builder under Charles B.
Fisk and
Robert
Noehren.
Stearns and his wife, Marcia, live in Vermont. They are the parents of
three grown children: a violinist, an actress and an organic seed producer
(High Mowing Seeds).
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