The Stoneman Douglas High School Band Program welcomes our new Director of Bands, Mr. Stephen Rivero.
About Mr. Rivero
Mr. Stephen K. Rivero was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami in 1995 and was named the honor graduate for the school of music. He began his teaching career at Ft. Lauderdale High School in 1995. Upon completion of his first-year teaching, he accepted the Director of Bands position at Hialeah High School. During his ten years at Hialeah, he achieved great success and numerous accolades with all of his ensembles as well as being awarded Teacher of the Year in 2002.
In 2006, Mr. Rivero accepted the Director of Bands position at Charles W. Flanagan High School. Under his Direction, the Flanagan Bands had consistently earned superior ratings at all Florida Bandmasters Association Music Performance Assessments. The Marching Band was a five-time finalist at Music for All’s, Bands of America Regional Contests. His Wind Orchestra was the featured Band at the 2011 President’s Concert of the Florida Music Educators Clinic and Conference in Tampa, Florida. In 2012, the Wind Orchestra was the National Champion at the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2018, Flanagan hosted clinics and performed with world renowned composers such as, David Maslanka, James Woodward, John Mackey, and Frank Ticheli.
In addition to his civilian profession, Mr. Rivero serves our country as the Commander and Conductor of the Florida National Guard’s, 13th Army Band. He has been a member of the Army Band for the past thirty-three years and has performed throughout the Continental United States, Dominican Republic, Morocco, St. Kitts, Guyana, and the U.S. territory of Guam. He attended basic training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, and Warrant Officer Candidate School at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. Chief Rivero also serves as an advisor to Army Bands for post operational readiness evaluations. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and the Florida Commendation Medal.
Mr. Rivero is an active Guest Conductor and Clinician. He has been the Conductor of the Florida All-State High School Honor Band, numerous All-County/Honor Bands throughout the United States, and recently, was the Conductor of the Tumon Bay Music Festival in Guam. In 2010, Mr. Rivero was inducted in to Phi Beta Mu; an honorary fraternity for Bandmasters, which was designed to honor directors on an international level. His civilian honors and awards include Teacher of the Year, the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, and the Oliver Hobbs Award; in recognition of consistent superior band performances and commitment and service to the field of music education. In 2017, Mr. Rivero was named the Arts Teacher of the Year for Broward, County, and most recently, he was named a quarterfinalist for the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year.