Richard Stephan

Awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus upon his retirement from the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam) after 32 years of teaching, Stephan was conductor of the Crane Symphony Orchestra and taught string bass, jazz guitar, and string education. Previous to his tenure at the university level, he taught instrumental music for thirteen years in the public schools of Buffalo and Hamburg, New York.

Stephan conducted the televised opening ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games and the 2000 Goodwill Games in Lake Placid (NY). He has guest conducted and presented clinics throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah and Hawaii. In 1984 he received a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to teach and conduct in Australia.

He had over thirty published compositions for string and full orchestra. In 1986, his Fanfare And Frippery won the National School Orchestra Association (NSOA) composition contest.