Stevens, Delores (Elaine)
Stevens, Delores (Elaine)
Stevens, Delores (Elaine), American pianist and teacher; b. Kingman, Kans., Jan. 29, 1930. She studied with Gordon Terwilliger (1946–48) and Jan Chiapusso (1948–52) at the Univ. of Kans. (B.M., 1952) and also had private study at the Music Academy of the West with Ernst von Dohnányi and Joanna Graudan. From 1968 to 1980 she was a pianist in the Montagnana Trio, which commissioned some 28 works by contemporary composers, including Daniel Lentz, Barney Childs, Per Nrgård et al.; toured with the ensemble in the U.S., England, and Scandanavia (1971–90). She was a founding member of Tandem, a piano/percussion duo; also performed extensively as a soloist, giving premieres of Poul Ruders’ Sonata No. 2, Arne Nordheim’s Listen, and Per Nrgård’s Turn; toured in the U.S. (1988–95), Japan (1990), Japan (1992, with the Daniel Lentz Group), and Spain (1993). From 1971 she also was a member of the Monday Evening Concerts Ensemble in Los Angeles and pianist and director of the Da Camera Players. She taught at the Calif. Inst. of the Arts, Mount St. Mary’s Coll., and at Calif. State Univ. at Dominguez Hills, where she also served as director of piano studies; in 1987 she joined the faculty of the American String Teachers Assn. Chamber Music Inst. From 1988 to 1997 she received annual Solo Touring Grants from the Calif. Arts Council.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire