About the Artist

Steve Emery began his study of the trumpet at the age of eleven and within two years had joined a “Dixieland” band and began playing professionally. During his school years in upstate New York, he played club dates with a variety of groups, performing the music of “Blood Sweat and Tears.” “Chicago” and many other popular horn bands of the time. After high school, Steve chose to pursue serious study of his instrument at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Gene Young and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance. During his time at Oberlin, Steve was recommended by Mr. Young as the instructor to the secondary-applied trumpet majors at the school and his success in that opportunity awakened a great enthusiasm for teaching. Following graduation from Oberlin Conservatory, he was invited to become the teaching associate at The Ohio State University, where he studied with Dr. Richard Burkart and graduated with honors and a Master of Music degree in trumpet performance. He continued his study in masterclasses with Vincent Cichowicz, as well as an occasional lesson with Adolph Herseth.

Following graduate school, Steve served for the next several years as Instructor of Trumpet at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and as utility trumpet with the Kansas City Philharmonic while continuing to work in town with many local Pop and Jazz groups. When the Assistant Principal chair with the K.C. Philharmonic came open, Steve auditioned and was awarded that position as well as principal trumpet with the Kansas City Lyric Opera. The following year he won the position of co-Principal trumpet in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and moved to Ohio to play Principal Trumpet in the CSO for the next seven years. In 1988 he auditioned in Boston and was invited to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a member of the trumpet section. He performed for the next 25 years with The Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Professor Emery currently serves on the faculty of The New England Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Steve has had the pleasure of recording on various TV and commercial projects for WGBH Boston and on film scores for Disney/Touchstone Pictures. He has also performed and recorded with other well known ensembles such as the St. Louis Symphony, The Vienna Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic, The Empire Brass (“Music of Gabrieli”) and Proteus 7 (“For Your Ears Only”) and has been honored to participate in the premieres of many contemporary works, including the American premieres of "Heptade" by Andre Jolivet, “Born to Beat Wild” by Nebojsa Zivkovic, and the world premiere, in Tokyo, of "The Eternal Leaves of the Gingko Tree" by Kensaku Shimizu.