 His composition "Meanwhile – Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays" won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2013.Hartke's musical influences include Stravinsky, medieval music, Tudor church music, bebop, gagaku, gamelan, other non-Western musics, and his teachers Leonardo Balada and George Rochberg.Stephen Hartke lives in Oberlin, Ohio with his wife Lisa Stidham and their son Sandy.