Background
Years of Service: 1971-2006
Stephen L. Syverud retired in 2006 as associate professor of composition. He began his tenure at Northwestern in 1971 after affiliations with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Grinnell College, and Jackson State University.
At Northwestern, Syverud established and constructed the Electronic Music Studio, for which he was the longtime director, and also helped establish the music technology program. In addition to teaching a wide variety of courses, he has served as coordinator of the composition program, codirector of the Contemporary Music Ensemble, and chair of the Northwestern-based 1988 National Conference of the American Society of University Composers.
Commissioned by a wide variety of individuals and ensembles, Syverud’s works have been performed at conferences, festivals, and institutions of higher learning throughout the United States. In Europe, he has lectured and attended performances of his music at the University of Athens and at the Franz Liszt Academy of a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Grant. Works by Syverud have been recorded on the Brewster label and published by Seesaw Music, Moro Music, and the American Composer’s Alliance.
After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from San Francisco State University, Syverud received a PhD in composition from the University of Iowa in 1973. He is a member of the Society of Composers, BMI, the American Music Center, the International Associate for the Fantastic in the Arts, the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States, and the International Computer Music Association.