Stephen Craft is the Associate Principal Percussionist and Assistant Timpanist with both the Tulsa Ballet and the newly formed Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. He is also Principal Timpanist for the Tulsa Opera. He is a native of Indiana, and a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Music.

Along with performing as a symphonic percussionist in Tulsa, Stephen has also performed with such groups as the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Fort Smith Symphony, the OK Mozart Orchestra (Solisti New York), the Illinois Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Keith Lockhart. He has also been the percussionist for several touring musicals including Hello Dolly!, Dream Girls, and Titanic. Stephen is also a member of Trifarium, a contemporary percussion group that has performed recitals and for school-age children throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and South Dakota. Stephen is also a member of the “Something Steel” Steel Band in Tulsa, and the Caribe Band of Steel in Louisville.

Stephen is also the Director of Percussion for Bartlesville Public Schools in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. During his 12 years in Bartlesville, his percussion ensembles have received superior ratings district and state wide, and have performed at the Oklahoma Percussive Arts Society with guest artists Michael Burritt and Richard Thompson. Stephen’s tenure has also produced a significant number of All-State percussionists in Oklahoma. His students have participated in the Oklahoma All-State band thirty-six times in the past nine years, with a record number of seven students in the percussion section for the last two years.

In addition to concert percussion groups, Stephen is also the director of the Bartlesville High School Steel Band. This group has had numerous public appearances including the Oklahoma Percussive Arts Society with guest artist Liam Teague, OK Mozart, and the Oklahoma Music Educators Association Convention with guest artist Lalo Davila. The steel band has also performed extensively in Europe.

Stephen also maintains an active teaching position with Tulsa Community College in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here he teaches percussion for education-bound students, percussion ensemble, and numerous private students. He is also in high demand as a percussion clinician throughout the state of Oklahoma.