Biography
Steve Parker is a trombonist, artist, and curator who creates communal, democratic work to examine history, systems, and behavior. His projects include elaborate civic rituals for humans, animals, and machines; listening sculptures made from salvaged marching band instruments that are modeled after obsolete WWII acoustic locators; and cathartic transportation symphonies for operators of cars, pedicabs, and bicycles. He has been the recipient of several honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship, a Harrington Fellowship, and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Best of Austin Prize, and the Austin Critics' Table.
Parker has performed and exhibited at leading venues and festivals internationally. Highlights include Art Basel Miami Beach, the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Lincoln Center Festival, the Fusebox Festival, Tanglewood, Los Angeles Philharmonic inSIGHT, the Stone, Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans), the Blanton Museum of Art, the Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia), the Contemporary Austin, Bowerbird, and the Gene Siskel Film Center (Chicago). As a soloist and as an artist of NYC-based "new music dream team" Ensemble Signal, he has premiered 200+ new works. His work has been reviewed by the New York Times, New Music Box, Sightlines, among others.
Parker has been awarded support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA, the Copland Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and the Mid America Arts Alliance. He is Curator of SoundSpace at the Blanton Museum of Art, Executive Director of Collide Arts, and a full-time faculty member at UTSA. He holds degrees in mathematics and music from Oberlin, Rice, and UT Austin.