W. Ray Stephens | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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W. Ray Stephens

W. (William) Ray (Raymond) Stephens. Music publisher, tubist, bassist, b Caerphilly, England, 12 Jan 1916. He studied music at the TCM (now RCMT) and for tenor years served as a military band musician.

Stephens, W. Ray

W. (William) Ray (Raymond) Stephens. Music publisher, tubist, bassist, b Caerphilly, England, 12 Jan 1916. He studied music at the TCM (now RCMT) and for tenor years served as a military band musician. After World War II he joined Boosey & Hawkes (Canada) as manager of the music dept in 1947 and in 1960 went to The Frederick Harris Music Company as sales manager, becoming managing director in 1975 and president in 1979. After his retirement in 1981 he wrote The Harps of War (1986) and compiled and annotated Memories and Melodies of World War II, a collection of 41 songs (Erin, Ont 1987). He has contributed to music magazines. In 1990 he resided in Oakville, Ont.