SARAHTIM Music Publishing

Stephen Hill - Composer, Teacher, Fly Fisherman

SARAHTIM Music Publishing grew out of the encouragement and support of my good friends and colleagues at California High School, Doug Nordquist, and Ben Murillo.

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The name SARAHTIM comes from simply combining the name of my daughter Sarah and my son Timothy.  SARAHTIM Music Publishing is the medium through which my music is available to those interested in purchasing or just listening to it.

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I compose for the simple joy and emotion of the creative experience. There are a few works here that were commissioned, but the majority of the works on this site result from my musical interest and expression.

I am grateful for the encouragement from the support I received from friends and colleagues who have taken the time to look through scores and provided their ensembles for reading sessions, rehearsals, and performances. Stephen Melillo, Doug Nordquist (California HS), Terry Dawson (Santa Fe HS), Carey Furnish (Pioneer HS), Craig Jordan (Hutchison MS), Rick Tyree (Newton MS), Tom Philips (Mayfair HS), Eric Villalobos (Tubist), Len Montgomery (Calvary Chapel HS), Leonard Narumi (Wildwood Music Camp), Glen Kamida (North Torrance Youth Musicians Ensemble), Dr. Kenneth Foerch (Vanguard University), Dr. Kenneth Meints (Orchestra Omaha), Ruth Meints (Omaha Conservatory of Music), Dr. Gene Chung (Los Angeles Youth Symphony), Hector Salazar (Southern California Brass Consortium), Dr. David Betancourt (Cerritos College), Dr. Anthony Mazzaferro (Fullerton College Symphonic Band, the Symphonic Winds of the Pacific, the Cazadero Music Camp), Dr. Craig Hamilton (Ouachita Baptist University, Arkansas), and Dr. John Burdett (Azusa Pacific University).

Although I received my degrees in composition, I spent over 35 years teaching K-12 instrumental music for two private Christian Schools. The majority of that time, 25 years, was spent with Whittier Christian Schools at the Maybrook Campus. Additionally, from 2001-2020 I was the assistant director for Doug Nordquist, Director of Instrumental Music at California High School.

My musical influences range from Ralph Vaughn Williams and Gustav Holst to the early American School of Howard Hanson, Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, and William Schuman. My principal teacher at Cerritos College, Philip Westin, studied with Ingolf Dahl at USC and privately with Roy Harris and personally knew Copland, Hanson, and Schuman. My other teacher W. Francis McBeth, at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, was a student of Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson and was classmates with John Barnes Chance. 

Along with the exposure to the more Romantic side of Contemporary American Music, I was fortunate to spend my graduate study with Dr. Byong Kon Kim at California State University, Los Angeles, and his more Dissonant and Atonal style of Contemporary Orchestral Music. 

Other musical influences certainly include the Rock music I grew up with through the '60s and '70s, especially the music of Keith Emerson and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. 

My love for fishing comes from my father. Although he passed away quite young at 49, when I was just 12 years old, it is an enduring memory to recall the times spent fishing with dad as a young boy. Regarding the value of spending some time fishing, I have kept this email from my teacher at Cerritos College, Philip Westin.

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for your note. I LOVE your web site! I particularly like the caption at the top where, among other things about yourself including your being a composer, you list yourself as a fly fisherman. . . It shows your humor and that you're a normal, well-rounded person!

Thanks for including me along with Dr. McBeth in your bio. I'm flattered, and, of course, pleased.

All the best,

Phil

Thank you for visiting the website and giving the music a listen.

Stephen