Phillip Crews

Jazz II Lab Band Director | Crete, IL

Phillip Crews earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, IL. He began his teaching career at Thornton Township High School, where he led the band program for nine years and was named a finalist in the 2002 Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival.

For 22 years, Crews directed the band program at Rich Township High School in Richton Park, IL, where he was widely recognized. In 2009, he received the Illinois State Board of Education's "Those Who Excel" Award, followed by the prestigious Mary Hoffman Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to music education at the 2018 Illinois Music Education Conference. He was inducted into Phi Beta Mu, the International Bandmasters Fraternity, in 2017.

In 2025, Crews was honored with the Quinlan and Fabish Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award and was named WGN's Teacher of the Month in May. After an inspiring 33-year career in high school music education, he retired in 2025. He continues to share his passion for music as an adjunct faculty member at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL, and remains an active performer.

A Birch Creek alum (1989), Crews returns for his tenth season as a member of the Birch Creek faculty.