Dempster, Stuart

(Ross), American trombonist and composer; b. Berkeley, Calif., July 7, 1936. Dempster studied at San Francisco State College (B.A. in perf., 1958; MA . in composition, 1967) and also had private trombone instruction from A. B. Moore, Orlando Giosi, and John Klock. He taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1961 to 1966 and at California State College at Hayward from 1963 to 1966. In 1968 Dempster joined the faculty of the University of Washington in Seattle. He received a Fulbright-Hays Award as a senior scholar in Australia (1973) and a Guggenheim fellowship (1981).

Dempster's interests include non-Western instruments, and he has written many pieces for the didjeridu, a long, simple horn that is played by the Aborigines of Australia. Many of his pieces include exotic instruments or unusual instructions to the performers, including his 1982 work Hornfinder for trombone and audience; JDBBBDJ for didjeridu and audience from a year later; 1994-95's Underground Overlays for conch shells, chanters, and tape; and 1996's Caprice for unicycle-riding trombonist.

In addition to his own experimental works, Dempster has often collaborated with PAULINE OLIVEROS. He published The Modern Trombone: A Definition of Its Idioms (Berkeley, Calif., 1979).