Craig Skeffington

Craig Skeffington has been the band director at South Portland High School in Maine for the past 12 years. His performing groups have won top honors at numerous jazz festivals during that time, including the Maine State Jazz Festival seven times, from 1995 to 2001; the Berklee College of Music Festival twice, in 1995 and again in 2001; and MusicFest Orlando once, in 2001. In 2003, Craig was awarded Music Educator of the Year by the Maine Music Educators Association. He has been Maine’s Jazz Activities Vice President (2002, 2003) as well as its Instrumental Jazz Chair (2005, 2006). He is also currently President of the Maine Band Directors’ Association.

As a New England area trumpet player, Craig has a wide variety of performance credits. These include working with Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, the Glenn Miller Band and touring with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. As a member of the New Hampshire based Seacoast Big Band, Craig has performed with artists such as Bobby Shew, Louis Bellson, Bob Mintzer, Frank Foster and Bob Florence. As a composer and arranger, his pieces have appeared in the NYSSMA manual, as well as the IAJE Journal. Groups ranging from middle school jazz bands to college and military bands have performed Craig’s music. Craig currently resides in South Portland with his wife Carrie and their two daughters, Hannah and Molly.