Dr. Stephen Caldwell is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Campus Faculy at the University of Arkansas. He is a nationally recognized conducting pedagogue and scholar, in demand as a clinician, conductor, and composer. At Arkansas, he conducts the nationally-renowned Schola Cantorum and Treble Chorus, teaches the undergraduate sequence in conducting technique, graduate conducting lessons, and the graduate sequence in Choral History and Literature. Since his arrival in 2012, he has twice been awarded the Associated Student Government’s “Top 10 Most Outstanding Faculty Award,” he has received “The Golden Tusk” from the Division of Student affairs for “going above and beyond, and helping to make campus life better for everyone,” he is a 3-time Outstanding Mentor, and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette named Dr. Caldwell as a “Top 10 Artistic People to Watch.”
Under his direction and leadership the the Schola Cantorum has become one of the leading collegiate choirs in America, appearing at numerous conference of SWACDA, NCCO, and ArkCDA, touring internationally to the Republic of Serbia, Belgium, Germany, and Puerto Rico, and collecting hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. His undergraduate conducting students lead major high school programs in Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, and Arizona. Graduates of the MM conducting program have have been placed in distinguished doctoral programs, and gone on to notable college, public school, and church music positions.
Dr. Caldwell began his career as a public school teacher in Colorado. He continues his work with junior high and high school students by leading workshops with area choral programs and adjudicating choral festivals. He has conducted District, Region and All-State choirs, in 6 states. He has prepared choirs for many leading conductors and ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Delaware Symphony, Arkansas Philharmonic, and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. He has presented interest sessions at multiple regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and was a 2018 ACDA International Conducting Exchange Fellow in Kenya. Upcoming honor choir engagements include conducting the 2021 Arkansas All-Region 5 High School Mixed Chorus, and the Texas MEA Region 20 Mixed Chorus.
His original, award-winning compositions and arrangements have been performed throughout the world. His compositions are available from Santa Barbara Music Press, EC Shirmer, and NoteNova. In 2018 he was lauded for the premiere of “Pre-Existing Condition,” a 20-min work for choir and instruments depicting the emotional journey of parents who have children born with congenital heart defects. The sold-out premiere received a 5-minute standing ovation, and the work was soon after featured by the Pediatric Congenital Heart Association. It was recognized with awards from the ACDA Brock Professional Composers Competition and The American Prize in Composition. “Pre-Existing Condition” was recently heard in Portland, OR, by the Resonance Ensemble, by Indiana University’s NOTUS, and Seton Hill University’s Una Voce, and will be performed by Louisiana State University this fall.
Dr. Caldwell holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado, two Master of Music Degrees in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Temple University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University.
