About

Stephen Crawford has been inspiring musicians of all ages for nearly three decades.  For the last 21 years, he was the Band Director at Houston’s prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where his bands, chamber ensembles, and soloists performed beautifully and received consistent superior ratings from UIL judges.  While at HSPVA he was the Music Director for 10 musical theatre productions including the Tommy Tune nominated orchestra for Urinetown.  He has been a guest conductor for the Austin Civic Symphony and the Houston Pride Band.

He has also served as faculty and administration for summer music programs for youth for more than 15 years including at the Austin Chamber Music Center and Houston Independent School District’s Summer Academy for Scholarship in the Arts.

He has performed on trombone extensively in chamber music and wind bands, and in popular shows such as Midtown Men and the FAB 40.

Mr. Crawford is passionate about new music and encourages his students to compose and improvise.   He has commissioned new works for full band and chamber winds and collaborated with community organizations to create new works as well.  He makes special effort to ensure that all his students experience music by traditionally underrepresented and marginalized composers.

Mr. Crawford received his Bachelors of Music in Music Studies and Texas All-Level Music Teacher Certification from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied trombone with Donald Knaub and conducting with Paula Crider and Jerry Junkin.  He received his Master of Music in Wind Conducting at Pennsylvania State University where he studied trombone with Mark Lusk and conducting with Dennis Glocke.

Additional Information

Willing to be contacted for: conducting, trombone performance