Dr. Stephen Emmons

Stephen D. Emmons is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He is an active composer of band, choral, chamber, and solo pieces. His music incorporates driving rhythms, minimalist ostinatos, bright tertian harmonies, modal scales, and imitative counterpoint. He often integrates into his works the melodies, harmonies, and compositional techniques found in Renaissance and Baroque music and in early American hymnody.

Dr. Emmons attended Texas State University, where he studied composition with Russell Riepe and Mark Dal Porto, and earned the B.M. and M.M. degrees. He received the Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, where he studied composition with Mary Jeanne van Appledorn.

Prior to joining the faculty at Angelo State University, Dr. Emmons was an assistant professor of music at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, where he taught theory and history and directed the school symphony orchestra.

Dr. Emmons has enjoyed collaborating with his faculty colleagues and the students at ASU, writing several pieces that have been premiered by faculty artists as well as student ensembles. Particularly significant are his collaborations with Dr. Timothy Bonenfant, who has premiered several of his works for clarinet and bass clarinet. His music is published by Cimarron Music Press, Potenza Music, and National Music Publishers. Recordings of Dr. Emmons’ music can be found on his YouTube channel.

Dr. Emmons’ music theory textbooks, A Survey of Music Theory for the College Classroom and A Survey of Form in Music for the College Classroom, are available in the OERTX Repository.

Dr. Emmons is a member of ASCAP and serves as the Institutional Representative to the National Association of Schools of Music.