A distinctive musical voice

In his songwriting, Sufjan Stevens ‘98 blends his long-time interests in both music and storytelling. He is pictured in a promotional image for his 2005 album Illinois, which has earned acclaim nationwide in publications ranging from Rolling Stone to Entertainment Weekly. (Photo by Denny Renshaw courtesy of Asthmatic Kitty Records)

It’s a sound that’s undeniably unique.

The distinctive musical voice of singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens ‘98 has been receiving widespread acclaim from critics and music lovers alike. The 30-year-old native of Michigan recently wrapped up a tour that took him across the United States, to cities in Canada and Western Europe, and back home again to New York.

Stevens recorded his first album, “A Sun Came,” while he was a student at Hope. Since moving to Brooklyn, N.Y. after graduation, he has released several more records, including 2004’s “Seven Swans,” a set of songs with themes of spirituality and love. But perhaps he is best known for his two geographically inspired releases: “Michigan” (2003) and “Illinois” (2005). Both albums showcase Stevens’ talent as a multi-instrumentalist – he plays acoustic guitar, piano, oboe, flute, accordion, and more.

Stevens has been featured in national publications such as Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. One writer described his voice as “a confident whisper,” while others have used terms like “breathy” and “unassuming.” Most would agree that describing Stevens’ voice is a bit easier than defining his music – even the artist himself said his work cannot be pigeonholed.

“I think you can listen to it and describe its influences,” Stevens explained. “For instance, you might hear a bit of ’60s French music, maybe some jazz, or a flourish here that sounds very baroque, but those are all attempts at trying to understand something that may just be indescribable.”

One thing that is apparent about Stevens’s songs is that they often tell a story. His songwriting frequently has a narrative intention, employing “characters, settings, and elements of fiction in its style and form,” Stevens said. This penchant for stories and writing took root while he was growing up in a family of six children near Petoskey, Mich.

“Storytelling and anecdote was our way of communicating in our family,” Stevens said. “It was our way of staking a claim to a particular experience in order to maintain purpose and identity in our family. Storytelling, fiction, and literature became important to me even before music did.” Although Stevens studied and played oboe from middle school on up to college, he spent just as much time buried in books, which he says became “a great source of fueling my imagination and inspiring me.”

When it came time for college, Stevens chose Hope for its English program and top-notch Visiting Writers Series. While majoring in English, he also participated in orchestra, Symphonette, the Opus student literary magazine, and the Anchor student newspaper. But it was the relationships he developed with both friends and professors that he says he remembers most.

“At Hope, it became less about excelling in a particular field and more about how to serve and facilitate other people through excellence, whether it was in the classroom, the student newspaper office, or on stage at the local coffeehouse,” he said. “It was always about relationships.”

Stevens credits all of his professors in the department of English for inspiring him in his own writing, but one teacher who stood out was Dr. Kathleen Verduin ‘65, whom Stevens appreciated for her wit and intelligence. For her part, Dr. Verduin described Stevens as one of the most “delightful” students she’s ever had at Hope.

“Sufjan was wonderful to have in class, not domineering, but definitely uninhibited,” she recalled. “He always had a completely original take on everything and always had something interesting to say. He also seemed to enjoy his professors, which was very gratifying.”

Jack Ridl, Professor of English – whom Stevens fondly described as a “terrific, poetic bear” – remembered Stevens for his originality and modesty. “The thing that always struck me about Sufjan was that he did everything with real integrity,” Professor Ridl said. “He was wonderfully receptive to anything you tried to help him with, and he was always very humble.”

It was during his time at Hope that Stevens began songwriting. For years, his experience with music had been primarily academic and technical, but he desired something more that would engage his creative voice.

“I’d always felt within me a desire to write songs and to arrange and compose, but I didn’t really have the skills and outlet for that,” Stevens said. “When I started playing guitar, that really changed the way I encountered music. I discovered that I had a unique voice which I could render through songwriting on the guitar.”

After meeting other students who shared his passion for music, Stevens became a member of several bands. The longest-running group at Hope was Marzuki, which played in local cafes and coffeehouses. Before Stevens’ senior year at Hope, the band members decided to move to New York City to record an album. Although the experience didn’t go as hoped (the band separated a year later), Stevens called it “an incredible time of learning.”

Stevens returned to Hope for one more year, graduating with a B.A. in English. After moving back to New York City and completing a two-year master’s program in fiction writing, he was leaning toward a career as a writer or English teacher. Although “music wasn’t really part of those goals,” he soon found himself on a track toward songwriting once he met other musicians who learned of his musical background.

“I was invited to perform, play, and collaborate with other people,” he said. “I was exhausted after two years of writing and felt like somewhat of a failed writer, so I found a bit of solace in songwriting again.”

Today, after several years of writing and recording albums, Stevens feels as though he is doing what’s he’s meant to do (”It’s sort of like finding a pair of pants that fit perfectly,” he said). Although his music is not billed as “Christian,” Stevens said he seeks to explore issues of faith and God in every song he writes – to which his lyrics attest. He’s excited that people in the music and art world with spiritual convictions are starting to feel less intimidated by public opinion concerning their views and beliefs.

“There are all kinds of people coming out of the woodwork who are no longer afraid to say that they believe in God,” he said. “It’s no longer seen as a detrimental characteristic or a delusion of character.”

Stevens said his years at Hope offered him an opportunity to speak openly about issues of faith and spirituality, and to discuss what it means to be in the world but not of it.

“I think Hope creates an environment in which you can discover what that means,” he said. “Those issues still reside in me, and they’re part of how I live and work in New York City.”

This year, Stevens has decided to take a “self-imposed” break after a hectic work and tour schedule during the past two years. So far in 2006, he’s played two concerts — at New York City’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. In early February, he received three awards at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards: Album of the Year (Illinois), Male Artist of the Year, and Album Art/Packaging of the Year (Illinois).

“I’m incredibly honored that so many people appreciate and receive what I’m doing,” Stevens said, “but I also acknowledge that they are being moved not by me, but by my music. That’s what’s exciting about it – that it really has nothing to do with me.”