James Stevens (1923-2012)
B i o g r a p h y
Bio by Jean Sommer (Sister)
James (Jimmy to his family) was born in Hackney, London,UK on May 5, 1923.
In 1930 the family (mother,father and sister, Jean) moved to a new,semi detached house(two up, two down, kitchen, bathroom and box room) in Mill Hill East. It was part of the ribbon development of London at that time but a big step up from the tiny council house they had been renting. We had our own rooms - Jimmy the upstairs back and me, the box room. I was five and he seven. We quarreled and fought a lot so Mum would shut me in the front room downstairs and Jimmy in the back room until we had quieted down and were ready to behave. We had an upright piano (a Boyd I believe) and Jimmy was always playing it. Later Mum taught us both how to read music and it came easily to him. As we grew older we became good friends and Jimmy was always protective of me.
We went to the closest Primary School(a mile’s walk away) and at age eleven he took the “Scholarship” and passed so he was able to go to Christ’s College, Finchley, a boys grammar school (I suppose in America it would be designated ‘college prep’) where he did quite well matriculating in 1939 and getting a job with Mass Observation. War broke out and for a while he continued working for M.O. and on Sundays we’d go cycling with a club (the local Youth Hostels Association Group) we belonged to.
Then he was called up. He registered as a conscientious objector saying he would refuse to kill anyone even if they were our enemies so he was sent to prison. Our Dad, who’d lost his hearing in WWI supported his decision. This meant a lot to Jimmy who’d hated his Dad early on but now came to appreciate him. * When he came out he was directed to work on the land digging ditches. At this time we joined the WEA (Workers’ Education Association) and met Connie Dyson who was instructing the literature course we were taking. It was she who recognized his talent as a musician and composer and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music which he did ,successfully ,and where he studied composition under Ben Frankel, a fine teacher whom Jimmy greatly respected and admired.
note from Erol Sommer (nephew):
The composer James Stevens, was an extremely compassionate man, who never wished to harm anyone. He always took the side of right, and was willing to make a stand for it, no matter the consequence.
He was a genius in many ways, which became more evident to me during the process of handling his estate. He was extremely well read, having over 1500 books in his small house. He knew art and collected it. He wrote extensively, keeping journals and writing short stories. But most notably, was the astounding number of handwritten musical scores, all of which have now been archived with the British Library.
Sadly he lived alone and was ravaged by arthritis in his old age. In his last decades, his only family was in the USA and could only visit about once a year. He was fortunate to have some devoted friends and neighbors who looked in on him, and for which he was very grateful.