Peter Pindar Stearns was a composer of sacred music who produced over 300 compositions that include seven symphonies, six string quartets, and many other orchestral and chamber works, as well as numerous organ and choral pieces. He taught in the Composition Department at Mannes College of Music from 1957 to 1989.

Pindar Stearns was born in New York City on June 7, 1931 to opera conductor, composer, and teacher Theodore Pease Stearns and the lyric soprano Marguerite Lamar. He grew up in Los Angeles, where he began to study music composition and theory with Leonard Stein. He later studied under Bohuslav Martinu, Felix Salzer and Julia Fox at Mannes, where he graduated in 1952. He returned, briefly, to Los Angeles after graduation to work in Hollywood, composing film scores, and to study under Miklos Rozsa.

In 1954, Stearns moved back to New York, where he began to compose in earnest. In 1957, he joined the Mannes faculty. Over the next 30 years, he developed the composition curriculum and chaired the composition department. He taught courses in composition, orchestration, theory, ear training, and also graduate seminars in music history. At various times he also served as director of Mannes Prep, and taught courses at Yale University and the Wykeham Rise School in Connecticut.

Stearns also worked as an organist and choral director for various churches, an editorial assistant at Carl Fischer Inc., and director of publications for Coburn Press Music Publishers, and an organ builder under Charles B. Fisk and Robert Noehren.

Throughout his career, Stearns kept a studio in Vermont, and later in life resided in Stowe, Vermont. He was, throughout his life, active in the Episcopal Church and in the Quaker community, and a volunteer in 12-step recovery programs.

Stearns's family includes his wife, Marcia Bush Stearns, a composer, singer, and music publisher; children Gloria Stearns-Bruner, a violinist/music therapist; Ethelyn Friend, a theater artist/voice teacher; and Thomas MacKenna Lamar Stearns, an organic seed farmer.

Stearns passed away on October 15, 2016, at the age of 85.

Bibliography

"Peter Pindar Stearns." American Composers Alliance. Accessed Oct. 9, 2017. https://composers.com/peter-pindar-stearns.

"Peter Pindar Stearns." Selah Publishing Co. 2017. https://www.selahpub.com/SelahPeople/Stearns.html.

"Peter Pindar Stearns." Stowe Reporter. Nov. 3, 2017. http://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/community/obituaries/peter-pindar-stearns/article_4f467af4-a1f3-11e6-98b8-37fb2127cb0a.html.