Steve Riley

Steve Riley is an active musician in the areas of composition, performance and education.  He holds a Bachelor of Percussion Performance from The University of Kansas where he studied percussion with George Boberg and composition with John Pozdro, James Barnes, and Boberg.  As a composer, Mr. Riley has been a recipient of The 2001 Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship (Grant) for Music Composition, 3 ASCAP Plus Awards (2003-05), 3rd Prize in The 2004 Tampa Bay Composers’ Forum for Excellence in Chamber Music Composition, and he is also a two-time prize winner in the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest (1st: 1988 and 3rd: 1999). He has many compositions published with C. Alan Publications, Ludwig Music Company, and Innovative Percussion, and his works have been performed at universities and venues around the world and at events such as The Percussive Arts Society International Convention and The Society of Composers Incorporated Regional Conference.  He is also a member of The Composition Contest Committee for The Percussive Arts Society.

Mr. Riley has been commissioned by percussion instructors at two major universities in Kansas to write new works.  Additionally, his composition Declarative Stances has been cited in John Beck’s Encyclopedia of Percussion as part of a group of works that are “significant contributions to percussion ensemble literature from its inception until the late 20th century”, and Gramophone magazine described his work Eye Irascible as a “mesmerizing narrative”.  He was formerly principal timpanist of the American Wind Symphony and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, and is principal percussionist of The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra. In addition to musical theater, chamber and contemporary free lance performing activity in the Lawrence, Kansas City and Topeka areas, Steve maintains a large private studio of students who have achieved honors such as Band of America, KMEA soloists, KSHSAA State and District Concert / Jazz Band selections and numerous first division ratings .  A member of ASCAP, PAS, and SCI, Steve is also a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a full length solo CD of original rock-pop music entitled Through Cells which he performs in the band Wryly Bent.  Currently, he is the Adjunct Instructor of Percussion and Music Composition at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas and the Drumline / Concert Percussion Instructor at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas.