Stephen Pratt studied
first to be a primary teacher at Christ’s College,
Liverpool. He then studied conducting at the Royal
Manchester College of Music, read Music at Reading
University followed by postgraduate studies in
composition with Hugh Wood.
Initially he became known
with works like the Piano Sonata (1974-5) and Star and
Dead Leaves for flute and piano (1977) which were both
selected for performance in the BBC Young Composers’
Forums of 1976 and 1978.
His strong links with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
began in 1978 when an Arts Council bursary enabled him
to write his first orchestral work, Some of their
Number (1978-9), which was given its premiere by the
RLPO under Simon Rattle in 1980, with three more
performances by the orchestra under Barry Wordsworth in
1984. In 1991 he completed Uneasy Vespers I,
commissioned for the Choir and Orchestra to mark the
150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Society; in October 2003 the RLPO under Gerard Schwartz
gave the premiere of his Violin Concerto, with Anthony
Marwood as soloist.
In May, 2003, Ensemble 10:10 gave
the first performance of a set of songs, Lovebytes, with
the soprano Patricia Rozario. The work was subsequently
nominated for a British Composer’s Award by the British
Academy of Composers and Songwriters. These latter two
works were recently released on CD on the RLPO label
alongside Double Act(2006-7), a work commissioned by the
Ensemble 10:10 to celebrate their 10th
anniversary. Miraculous Mandolin was premièred by
Kokoro in Bournemouth in November 2007 and as
one of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture commissions
his Uneasy Vespers II was premièred by the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra on 23 October
2008.
Beyond his orchestral work
there have been chamber works for such artists as the
Chilingirian Quartet, Gemini and Psappha and he has
worked closely with the pianist Joanna MacGregor.
Stephen was principal guest conductor with the
Metropolitan Cathedral Orchestra for 25 years, and has
recently been appointed its Principal Conductor He is
currently Professor of Music at Liverpool Hope
University, a Fellow of the University of Liverpool and
Emeritus Professor at Gresham College, London.
