Stephen hardie began his musical studies with his mother on the piano at age five, and took up drums soon after. At age fourteen, he commenced the study of classical percussion. From 1988 he studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, where his teachers were Robert Clarke, Paul Sarcich and Robet Cossom, eventually completing a Bachelor of Music Performance (Honours). He has been in a number of ensembles as a student, including the Australian Youth Orchestra for three years and was principal percussionist with the Geminiani Orchestra for five years. Stephen has been a casual performer with the Melbourne Symphony since 1990 and was a soloist in their performance of Kits by Phillipe Hurel in April 1998. He has also played with the State Orchestra of Victoria, the Melbourne Bach orchestra and the Orchestra of the Melbourne Chorale, along with numerous other freelance engagements. He is the percussion teacher at Eltham High School, where he also directs the jazz band.