Dr. Stephen Hawk BIO
Dr. Stephen Hawk
With over 35 years of experience in music education, Dr. Hawk currently works as a music educational
consultant and performer nationally. He is a Professor Emeritus of Music at Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania, where he taught for 26 years. His position included serving as the Professor of Trumpet,
Department Chairperson, Director of Jazz Studies, and directing the highly acclaimed SRU Jazz Ensemble
for 14 years. During his tenure as the jazz ensemble director, the group was invited to perform at prestigious
jazz festivals such as The North Sea, Montreux, University of Notre Dame, and Elmhurst College. Dr. Hawk
founded the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, which he conducted for 12 years, and also directed the Trumpet
Ensemble, and Brass Band. Dr. Hawk received the 2003 Pennsylvania Music Educators Citation of Excellence
in Teaching Award and the 2004 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence from Slippery Rock University.
He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Who’s Who Among American Teachers. He received
his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Western Illinois University. He earned his Master of Music
degree in trumpet performance and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet/Jazz Emphasis, from the
University of Texas at Austin. While at Texas, he studied with Professor Raymond Crisara and performed
with him in the University of Texas Faculty Brass Quintet. After retiring from SRU, Dr. Hawk returned to
his Texas roots at Texas State University, where he taught graduate-level jazz courses, directed a jazz
ensemble and Latin jazz applied trumpet.
Dr. Hawk performs as a freelance trumpeter, where he has played lead trumpet with jazz legends including;
Dizzy Gillespie, The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Bob Mintzer Big Band,
Arturo Sandoval, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Manhattan Transfer, The New
York Voices, Nancy Wilson, Diane Schuur and entertainers such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Ray Charles, Frankie
Valli and the Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Natalie Cole, and Mannheim Steamroller. While
teaching in the Pittsburgh region, Dr. Hawk was an active performer for over 25 years. He was the Principal trumpet
with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Broadway Orchestra, The Pittsburgh Jazz
Orchestra, The MCG Jazz Big Band, The Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra and The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, as well as
orchestral and solo opportunities, including performing with The Pittsburgh Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Austin
Symphony Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras, and
numerous region orchestras. Since 2017, Stephen has been touring across the country with the first national tours of
The Bodyguard, Kinky Boots, Aladdin, and Tootsie.
Hawk’s first Big Band recording, "The Hawk's Out", was selected by New York’s Cadence Magazine as its
Outstanding Big Band Recording for 1998. In addition to his recordings, Hawk’s studio credentials include playing
lead trumpet with Nancy Wilson on her 2004 Grammy Award-winner, “RSVP”, as well as her 2006 Grammy Award-
winner, “Turned to Blue”. Stephen also played on numerous Grammy-nominated recordings. He appeared in PBS
television specials featuring Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Patti Page, The Four
Aces, and numerous others. Additionally, he performed on The Oprah Winfrey 2001 Christmas special with Nancy
Wilson, Charlotte Church, and Destiny’s Child, featuring Beyonce.
Since 1992, Hawk has been an in-demand commercial lead trumpet player with over 2600 professional
Broadway performances to his credit in cities including Pittsburgh, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Aspen, and
Cleveland. His vast Broadway experience includes playing in over 120 different professional productions, covering
numerous musical styles.
Stephen Hawk remains in demand as a guest director, soloist, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the
United States, and is a trumpet artist for Bell Trumpets. He has presented trumpet clinics at the Pennsylvania
Music Educator’s Conference and has performed at TMEA and Jazz Educators Network. He performed and
presented clinics in Moscow, Russia at the first-ever International Trumpet Guild Conference hosted by the Moscow
Conservatory of Music. Further European performances and clinics have included Paris and Beaune, France;
Montreux, Switzerland; Rotterdam, Holland; Ravenna, Lucca, Cesena, Florence, Italy and Manchester, UK.
With over 35 years of experience in music education, Dr. Hawk currently works as a music educational
consultant and performer nationally. He is a Professor Emeritus of Music at Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania, where he taught for 26 years. His position included serving as the Professor of Trumpet,
Department Chairperson, Director of Jazz Studies, and directing the highly acclaimed SRU Jazz Ensemble
for 14 years. During his tenure as the jazz ensemble director, the group was invited to perform at prestigious
jazz festivals such as The North Sea, Montreux, University of Notre Dame, and Elmhurst College. Dr. Hawk
founded the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, which he conducted for 12 years, and also directed the Trumpet
Ensemble, and Brass Band. Dr. Hawk received the 2003 Pennsylvania Music Educators Citation of Excellence
in Teaching Award and the 2004 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence from Slippery Rock University.
He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Who’s Who Among American Teachers. He received
his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Western Illinois University. He earned his Master of Music
degree in trumpet performance and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet/Jazz Emphasis, from the
University of Texas at Austin. While at Texas, he studied with Professor Raymond Crisara and performed
with him in the University of Texas Faculty Brass Quintet. After retiring from SRU, Dr. Hawk returned to
his Texas roots at Texas State University, where he taught graduate-level jazz courses, directed a jazz
ensemble and Latin jazz applied trumpet.
Dr. Hawk performs as a freelance trumpeter, where he has played lead trumpet with jazz legends including;
Dizzy Gillespie, The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Bob Mintzer Big Band,
Arturo Sandoval, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Manhattan Transfer, The New
York Voices, Nancy Wilson, Diane Schuur and entertainers such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Ray Charles, Frankie
Valli and the Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Natalie Cole, and Mannheim Steamroller. While
teaching in the Pittsburgh region, Dr. Hawk was an active performer for over 25 years. He was the Principal trumpet
with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Broadway Orchestra, The Pittsburgh Jazz
Orchestra, The MCG Jazz Big Band, The Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra and The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, as well as
orchestral and solo opportunities, including performing with The Pittsburgh Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Austin
Symphony Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony and Pops Orchestras, Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras, and
numerous region orchestras. Since 2017, Stephen has been touring across the country with the first national tours of
The Bodyguard, Kinky Boots, Aladdin, and Tootsie.
Hawk’s first Big Band recording, "The Hawk's Out", was selected by New York’s Cadence Magazine as its
Outstanding Big Band Recording for 1998. In addition to his recordings, Hawk’s studio credentials include playing
lead trumpet with Nancy Wilson on her 2004 Grammy Award-winner, “RSVP”, as well as her 2006 Grammy Award-
winner, “Turned to Blue”. Stephen also played on numerous Grammy-nominated recordings. He appeared in PBS
television specials featuring Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Patti Page, The Four
Aces, and numerous others. Additionally, he performed on The Oprah Winfrey 2001 Christmas special with Nancy
Wilson, Charlotte Church, and Destiny’s Child, featuring Beyonce.
Since 1992, Hawk has been an in-demand commercial lead trumpet player with over 2600 professional
Broadway performances to his credit in cities including Pittsburgh, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Aspen, and
Cleveland. His vast Broadway experience includes playing in over 120 different professional productions, covering
numerous musical styles.
Stephen Hawk remains in demand as a guest director, soloist, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the
United States, and is a trumpet artist for Bell Trumpets. He has presented trumpet clinics at the Pennsylvania
Music Educator’s Conference and has performed at TMEA and Jazz Educators Network. He performed and
presented clinics in Moscow, Russia at the first-ever International Trumpet Guild Conference hosted by the Moscow
Conservatory of Music. Further European performances and clinics have included Paris and Beaune, France;
Montreux, Switzerland; Rotterdam, Holland; Ravenna, Lucca, Cesena, Florence, Italy and Manchester, UK.