Josephine Stephenson signs to Wise Music Group

Wise Music Group has signed a long-term publishing agreement with French-British composer, arranger and performer Josephine Stephenson. Stephenson joins the roster of Éditions Alphonse Leduc alongside Betsy Jolas, Henri Dutilleux, Michèle Reverdy, Elsa Barraine, Olivier Messiaen, Germaine Tailleferre, Nadia Boulanger and Francis Poulenc.

Josephine Stephenson commented: “I am thrilled to be joining the historic Éditions Alphonse Leduc. Leduc and the wider Wise Music Group represent many composers with whom I have long felt an affinity, and beside whom I am proud and honoured to stand. Most importantly, I am excited to start a new relationship which I am sure will have a great impact on the continuation of my creative journey in music.”

Oscar Zepeda Arias, Head of Wise Music Classical Paris, says: “We warmly welcome Josephine Stephenson to Editions Musicales Alphonse Leduc. As soon as Gill Graham – Group Head of Promotion – introduced me to her music, I immediately knew that Josephine was the perfect composer to join a catalogue with such a prestigious legacy. Her freshness and wide approach have already made us witness to her outstanding operas and choral works but also her recent powerful arrangements for artists such as Damon Albarn and Benjamin Biolay. It is very exciting to work with such a talented composer whose work deserves the widest attention.”

About Josephine Stephenson
Josephine's music has been commissioned by institutions such as the BBC, Radio France, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Nonclassical and Spitalfields Music, and broadcast on France Musique and BBC Radio 3. She has written for acclaimed performers including the London Sinfonietta, Aurora Orchestra, s t a r g a z e, Miroirs Étendus, Explore Ensemble, The Hermes Experiment, Tenebrae, the Maîtrise de Radio France, tenor Allan Clayton, gambist Liam Byrne and guitarist Laura Snowden.

Interested in harmony, sonority and dynamic immediacy in her music, she has collaborated with theatre companies La Raffinerie, L'Éventuel Hérisson Bleu and FellSwoop Theatre and filmmakers Julia Hart and Scott Vickers. She also regularly works as an arranger for songwriters and bands, which have included Damon Albarn, Daughter, Lisa Hannigan, Benjamin Biolay, NZCA LINES, James Righton, Ana Silvera, Evergreen and others.

In 2021-23 she is composer in residence at the Opéra Grand Avignon.