Stephen Crawford has been inspiring musicians of all ages for nearly three decades.  He is currently an active freelance conductor, trombonist, and teacher in the Houston area, including a low brass studio in the Cypress Fairbanks ISD.  For 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 consistently superior ratings from UIL judges.  While at HSPVA, he was the Music Director for 10 musical theater productions, including the Tommy Tune nominated orchestra for Urinetown.  Under Stephen's direction, the Kinder HSPVA Symphonic Band received the 2022 National Wind Band Honors Mark of Excellence award.

Stephen has been a guest conductor for the Forth Bend Symphony Orchestra, Texas New Music Festival, Austin Civic Symphony, the Houston Pride Band, and the HSPVA Symphony. He has also served as faculty and administration for summer music programs for youth for more than 15 years, including coaching the wind & percussion sections for Houston Youth Symphony, the Austin Chamber Music Center, and Houston Independent School District’s Summer Academy for Scholarship in the Arts.

A trombonist for over 40 years, Stephen has performed extensively in chamber music and wind bands and in popular shows such as Midtown Men and the FAB 40.

Passionate about new music, Stephen 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 a special effort to ensure that all his students experience music by traditionally underrepresented and marginalized composers.

Stephen received his Bachelor 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.

Stephen lives in Houston with his loving and patient wife and daughter, and 2 very small but loud dogs.