Steve was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where he developed an intense passion for everything relating to music and trumpet playing. At a very young age, Steve found safety and self-confidence in making music, and before he was in high school, he had built up a collection of over 20 trumpets. All of them salvaged from flea markets and yard sales, obsessed with finding out how each one played.

Throughout high school under the mentorship of Tim Kennedy, Steve was surrounded by a community that put an emphasis on marching band and his passion grew, leading to marching lead trumpet positions in the Music City Drum and Bugle Corps from Nashville, Tennessee in 2011, and The Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps from La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2012, where he toured the country.

After graduating high school, Steve attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Throughout his time at WKU, Steve studied under Marshall Scott and performed in the top ensembles at the school, including a lead trumpet position in the University Jazz Band, a co-principal position in the Bowling Green-Western Symphony Orchestra, and was also a featured soloist and section leader for the Big Red Marching Band. Throughout his time at WKU, Steve also marched his final year of drum corps with Phantom Regiment from Rockford, Illinois.

After graduating with his Bachelor of Music in 2017, Steve packed up and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently lives, teaches, and performs with many groups in the area.

In the Bay Area, Steve has performed locally with Touch of Class, Pacific Brass, and Äwesome Orchestra just to name a few, and he is the current director of bands at Orchard School District in San Jose.

When he is not playing trumpet or teaching music, Steve also works as a featured automotive journalist. He currently resides in sunny Santa Clara, California with his beautiful partner, Isabel, and his dog, Percy.

Phaeton instruments have always been a favorite for Steve, and he is excited to be an educator/artist for Phaeton.

Steven endorses and plays Phaeton Trumpet model PHT-2070 exclusively.

Steven can be reached at: stevenjteleky@gmail.com