Dr. Stephen Hawk

Class of 1973 Stephen Hawk received his bachelor of music education degree from Western Illinois University, his master’s of music degree in trumpet performance from the University of Texas at Austin, and his doctor of musical arts degree in trumpet/jazz emphasis also from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Professor of Music at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU) where he serves as Professor of Trumpet and is the conductor of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Brass Band. Dr. Hawk served for fourteen years as the Director of Jazz Studies, and directed the highly acclaimed SRU Jazz Ensemble. He also performs as a freelance trumpeter. As a trumpet performer he has been nominated for a Grammy Award on five separate occasions. He has played lead trumpet with jazz legends including: Dizzy Gillespie, the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Arturo Sandoval, the Manhattan Transfer, the New York Voices, Nancy Wilson, Diane Schuur, and entertainers including Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, and the Mannheim Steamroller. He has performed as the principal trumpet with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Broadway Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, the MCG Big Band, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and is the co-leader and founder of the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Hawk has been featured on many recordings with his big band CD entitled “The Hawk’s Out,” selected by New York’s Cadence Magazine as the Outstanding Big Band Recording of the year in 1998. In addition to his own recordings, he played lead trumpet in Nancy Wilson’s 2004 Grammy winning CD “RSVP,” as well as her 2006 Grammy winner, “Turned to Blue.” In addition to his numerous performance honors and appearances, Dr. Hawk received the Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Citation of Excellence in Teaching Award for 2003, the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence from Slippery Rock University for 2004, and membership into the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi and Who’s Who Among American Teachers. Dr. Hawk has presented clinics in Moscow, Russia and performed on two separate European performance tours.