Stephen Dean

(Text courtesy of Sue Dean)

Stephen played the organ and organised the music in Mildenhall church for about 20 years. 

Though the violin was his first instrument he first played the organ at age fourteen in St John’s church in Horsham where his mother was the choir mistress.

Stephen attended junior seminary in Mark Cross, from there went to the English College in Rome to train as a priest and while at the college took on the role of music director. After four years he decided that music rather than the priesthood was something he wanted to do. He returned to England and worked first as an editor for the Catholic Truth Society and as an editor for McCrimmons where he produced the first Celebration Hymnal. 

He spent some time in Spain and returned to England in 1979 at the invitation of the then Bishop Cormac to take on the role of music director for Arundel and Brighton Diocese and Music master at Arundel Cathedral. After six very productive years Stephen left A&B diocese and joined the St Thomas More Centre in London where he did editorial work and gave music and liturgy workshops around the country. Over all those years he was composing hymns and mass settings, still doing editorial work for McCrimmons producing the Responsorial Psalter and the Great Week and wrote a book published by Collins, Celebration: the Liturgy. He was also on the Bishops Conference Liturgical Committee for many years and helped produce liturgical documents. 

In 1991 Stephen left the Centre to take on the role of part time music advisor for East Anglia Diocese. His publisher (Oregon Catholic Press – OCP) in America asked him to distribute their music and so began Decani Music. Eventually Decani Music would distribute for GIA, World Library, Taize and many other smaller publishers. Stephen’s long-term aim of producing a hymn book that would be useful to both parish communities and cathedrals was realised with the help of OCP and GIA and Laudate was launched in 1999. It was an immediate success and can now be found in churches around the UK, even some in Australia, Southern Ireland and on the continent. 

Stephen is still the president of the National Network of Pastoral Musicians (NNPM) an interdenominational organisation that he and his wife Sue set up. The bi-annual conferences attracted hundreds of church musicians from all denominations who came to learn from composers and speakers of international renown. Some joined our Sunday celebrations in Mildenhall: Marty Haugen (All are welcome) Bob Hurd (As the deer longs) and Christopher Walker (the Celtic Liturgy). In recognition of this work Stephen was made a Fellow of The Royal School of Church Music. 

In the diocese Stephen formed a diocesan choir and arranged and led the music for many years for the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham, the Chrism Mass each year in the Cathedral and many ordinations. He often composed music for these occasions and for the parish. In Laudate you will find a hymn tune called West Row, there is a Christmas song called the Brandon Lullaby and there is even a Brandon Mass setting. Many of the psalms and music sung in our church at Easter were composed by Stephen. Over all those years he also produced a Liturgy Planner for parish musicians. Three issues a year and it listed all of the hymns in most used hymn books that would compliment the Sunday readings. It had many hundreds of subscribers. 

But Stephen would be the last person to tell you any of the above. Famous in Catholic music circles in both this country and America, he thinks of himself as very unimportant and he said he always felt most at ease playing the organ for Sunday masses in Mildenhall. 

Stephen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s some twelve years ago and gave up his role in the diocese six years ago but continued to play the organ until December 2024 when mobility and sight meant he had to finally hang up the organ key.

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(Text courtesy of Mary Rider)

Yes, Stephen a very talented man, apart from being the Diocesan music director, our organist and composer of many a hymn we sing in church he was so much more.

Firstly if you haven't already contact John Bruton. They were a great double act in many of our February fundraisers as a comedy and musical duo imitating some very famous radio and TV duos in the radio plays we did, a sketch moment for cabaret nights as well as more serious entertainment evenings. He was Stephen at the Keyboard setting the tone at the start of many of the previous February fundraisers. I also especially remember him as the Inspector at a Murder Mystery night, dressed the part and offering a grave and serious summary of 2 murders before the inevitable arrest.

For many years we had a book club operating at Mildenhall until Covid saw its demise. 

Stephen was fantastic at taking the lead for many of the reviews highlighting the aims of the author, often understanding angles several of us would have missed and all without any sign of patronisation.

An exceptional skill was his mastery of several languages so if a book had been written by a European author he alone read it in the native language enabling once again to understand aspects we as a group had pretty much overlooked.

Miss him so much and he contributed so much to our Parish, and former priests...his time in the seminary coming in very useful!