Steve Sveum

Steve Sveum retired as a band and jazz director in the Sun Prairie Area School District in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin from 1985-2020. In that time his jazz ensembles performed at numerous state and national conventions, including the Midwest Clinic with Wynton Marsalis. Other notable performances include a performance at the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference with guest soloist, Clark Terry and a concert tour of Germany. His high school jazz ensemble has also been a 13 time finalist in the national “Essentially Ellington” festival and competition, placing third, three times and played an opening set for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Sveum brought in numerous guest artists to work with his ensembles including Arturo Sandoval, Clark Terry, Dennis Mackrel, Bobby Shew, James Williams, Ed Thigpen, Tony Williams, Carl Allen, Ronald Carter, Rodney Whitaker, Terell Stafford, Kenny Rampton and Bria Skonberg among others.

Mr. Sveum was a 2014 recipient of the Downbeat Magazine “Jazz Education Achievement Award” and has worked for Jazz at Lincoln as a faculty member of the Band Director Academy in New York, New York; Mesa, Arizona, St. Louis, Missouri and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Mr. Sveum recently celebrated 20 years as a faculty member at the Birch Creek Music Academy in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. Sveum has also served as a faculty member at the UW-Whitewater summer Jazz Camp. He has been an Illinois district honor jazz ensemble director 7 times, across the state of Illinois. In 2016, he directed the Iowa 3A All-State Jazz Ensemble in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Sveum is a contributing author for the “Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz” series published by GIA and “The Conductor’s Companion - 100 rehearsal techniques, imaginative ideas, quotes and facts” published by Meredith. He remains active working with high school jazz ensembles across the country.