Stephen P. Harvey ‘14 vividly remembers his first time at Seton Hill. After being delayed when arriving on campus for an admission event, he ended up getting a private tour of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) from President JoAnne Boyle and an architect reviewing the final phase of the building. 

The PAC would end up becoming Harvey’s home for the next four years. 

When the building was completed, the Westmoreland Museum of Art was undergoing a renovation and moved its jazz series to the Performing Arts Center. It was then that Harvey heard some of the performances and his idea of playing in the series one day was hatched.

Nearly 10 years later, Harvey came back to Greensburg to fulfill his dream as he and the members of the Stephen P. Harvey Octet performed at the first concert in the Fall 2023 series. Harvey worked with fellow alum Darrah Resnick ‘16, events manager at the museum, to snag a spot.

Several members of the Seton Hill community were in attendance to support Harvey, including current students and Dr. Kathy Campbell, professor of music.

“If it wasn’t for Seton Hill educating their students in comprehensive musicianship, music like this wouldn’t happen,” Harvey said of the performance - which included songs from the octet’s album, Elemental, which was released in May. A new album Sphinx - the self-titled debut of Sphinx, his electronic quintet - is coming out September 29.

Harvey met his wife, Kellie Johnson Harvey ‘14, in Seton Hill’s marching band. They were married in St. Joseph Chapel in 2017 and currently work as music educators in Maryland. Kellie was named the Maryland Music Educators Association’s Outstanding Music Educator in 2022. 

More about Stephen Harvey’s work can be found on his website StephenPHarvey.com.