Dr. Stephen Kingsbury

Dr. Stephen Kingsbury is a dynamic and exciting conductor and educator who is dedicated to inspiring students and audiences alike through impassioned performances and a deep commitment to choral excellence.  Dr. Kingsbury currently serves as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall where his duties include conducting the SMSU Glee Club, Alta Voce, and the SMSU Chorale, and teaching classes in music theory, choral conducting and literature, and music education. Prior to his appointment at Southwest, Dr. Kingsbury held academic positions in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee.  Choirs under his direction have garnered many awards and distinctions; including invited performances at New York’s Famed Carnegie Hall, the Abby of the Hills in South Dakota, the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.  They have also performed the conferences of the Minnesota Music Educators and the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota.  In December of 2023, Dr. Kingsbury led the SMSU Chorale on an international tour to Austria and the Czech Republic.  In 2010, Dr. Kingsbury was recognized as a semi-finalist in the Choral Division of the American Prize in Conducting.  He was recently invited to make his Carnegie Hall Conducting debut in May of 2026 conducting Morten Lauridsen’s stunning choral/orchestral work Lux Aeterna.  

Dr. Kingsbury earned both a BA in Music Pre-Teaching (Summa Cum Laude with University Honors in Music Education) and a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from the University of New Hampshire.  He also holds a Master of Music Performance Degree in Conducting from Boston University and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. Kingsbury has also earned the distinction as a Distinguished Voice Professional by the New York Singing Teachers’ Association.  Additionally, he holds micro-credentials in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Trauma-Informed Pedagogy, Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment, and Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses, as well as a certification in Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning.  He also was a participant in the 2022 Anti-Racism Across the Curriculum (ARPAC) Institute, and was a SMSU Equity Teaching Fellow in 2022 and 2023.  

Dr. Kingsbury has directed choirs at both the community and university level in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri, including serving as conductor of Arava, the concert choir of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Illinois. He is also the founding Music Director of the Monticello Summer Singers in Illinois. He is currently the conductor of the Chancel Choir at the First Lutheran Church in Marshall. His performance background includes performances on both double bass and voice, including participation in choral performances under the batons of Paul Salamunovich, Craig Smith, Charles Dutoit, and Robert Shaw. He has also been a member of the Boston Secession and the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana. Stephen has appeared as a bass-baritone soloist with the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois Chorale as well as with the University of Central Missouri Choirs and Orchestra, and the Southwest Minnesota Orchestra. 

In addition to his work as a performer and educator, Dr. Kingsbury is a prolific writer with over 70 publications to his credit.  He has worked as a music journalist, holding positions as Contributing Writer for the All Music Guide, and the newspapers "The CU Cityview" and "The Paper.”  Additionally, his research interests focus on finding meaning in music.  His work has been published in Choral Journal (the official publication of the American Choral Directors Association), ChorTeach (ACDA's online journal for ideas and techniques), The Luminary (an open-access journal housed in Lancaster University's Department of English and Creative Writing), and the Yale Journal of Music and Religion.  His most recent article, "Resisting the Tyranny of the Barline: Teaching Metric Stress and “Meter” in Renaissance Polyphony," was published in the Winter 2023 edition of ChorTeach. 

Dr. Kingsbury is in high demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. He also presents regularly at state, regional and national conferences.  His professional memberships include The American Choral Directors Association, NAfME: the National Association for Music Education, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and The Golden Key National Honor Society.  He recently completed two terms as the Repertoire and Resources Chair for Youth and Student Activities for the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota.  

Dr. Kingsbury resides in Marshall, with his wife, Dr. Maria Kingsbury, and their daughter, June.

email Dr. Kingsbury