Steve Riley
Steve Riley is a self-employed, independent musician and multi-media artist based in Lawrence, Kansas. He is a composer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter, recording/mixing engineer, and educator. He also has experience as a voice actor and Foley artist. His albums of various musical styles are available here in this website and through Bandcamp at steveriley1.bandcamp.com.
As a composer, he has been a recipient of The 2001 Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship (Grant) for Music Composition, 10 ASCAP Plus Awards, 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 Masters Publications, Innovative Percussion, and Airstrive Music, and his works have been performed at universities and venues around the world and at events such as The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC),
Professional Calendar
2025
MARCH
1 – PERFORMANCE: (drum set/percussion) 7:30 p.m., Something Rotten, The Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO
2 – PERFORMANCE: (drum set/percussion) 2:00 p.m., Something Rotten, The Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO
APRIL
5 – PERFORMANCE: (timpani) 7:30 p.m., The Brahms Requiem, Lawrence Civic Choir with Lawrence Community Orchestra, The Lied Center, Lawrence, KS
10 – PERFORMANCES: (drum set & percussion) 8:45 a.m. & 7:00 p.m., 5th Grade Music Program, Pembroke Lower School, Kansas City, MO
18 – PERFORMANCE: (drum set) 7:00 p.m., Good Friday Service, Colonial Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, MO
19 – PERFORMANCE: (timpani/percussion) 8:00 p.m., Easter Vigil, Visitation Catholic Church, Kansas City, MO
20 – PERFORMANCES: (timpani/percussion) 8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m., Easter Services, Visitation Catholic Church, Kansas City, MO
24 – PERFORMANCE: (drum set/percussion) 3:30 p.m., “Showcase ’25”, The Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO
25 & 26 – PERFORMANCES: (drum set/percussion) 7:30 p.m., “Showcase ’25”, The Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO
MAY
3 – PERFORMANCE: (timpani/percussion) 7:00 p.m., Jubilate Deo by Dan Forrest, Bell Cultural Events Center, Mid America Nazarene University, Olathe, KS
4 – PERFORMANCE: (timpani) 7:00 p.m., Handel’s Messiah, Parts II & III, The University of Kansas Alumni Orchestra, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Lawrence, KS
16 & 17 – PERFORMANCES: (drum set/percussion) 7:00 p.m., “Spotlight Spectacular”, Shawnee Mission West High School, Overland Park, KS
JUNE
1 – PERFORMANCE: (percussion) 10:30 a.m., Sunday Service, First United Methodist Church, Lawrence, KS
The Society of Composers Incorporated Regional Conference, Music For All (Band of America), and The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. He served for 11 years as a member of The Composition Contest Committee for The Percussive Arts Society and is Past President of the Kansas Chapter for that organization. He has been commissioned by percussion professors at three major universities in Kansas and Missouri 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”.
In music performance, Steve is an active free-lance percussionist in classical, jazz, and pop/contemporary styles in the Lawrence, Kansas City, and Topeka areas. He was formerly Principal Timpanist of the American Wind Symphony and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, and has also played drum set and extra percussion with The Kansas City Symphony. He is also very active in music theatre having performed professionally in over 80 productions in his career as both a percussionist and keyboardist (including many productions at venues such as Starlight Theatre and The New Theatre Restaurant in greater Kansas City and The Rep in St. Louis). Through these productions he has had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Weird Al Yankovic, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Gregory Harrison, and Barry Williams. In 2020 he also produced and released a 31-episode audio recreation of the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” recreating the entire production through voice acting, music performance, and sound effects (Foley), which can be found on this website and his YouTube channel, Airstrive.
In education, Steve held the position of Adjunct Instructor of Percussion and Music Composition at Baker University for 14 years (2002-16), and he was also the Interim Director of Bands during Fall 2011. During the 2018 Spring Semester he was Guest Artist-in-residence, Percussion at Kansas State University, and was Percussion Lecturer at The University of Kansas in Summers 2015 and 2019. He is an active adjudicator and clinician, having judged events such as The 2007 PAS Composition Contest (percussion ensemble category) and The 2010 Mid-Missouri Percussion Arts Trophy (timpani division). Steve has also been the Percussion Instructor for Midwestern Music Camp, Kansas Lions State Band, held the position of Drumline and Concert Percussion Instructor at Olathe Northwest High School for 6 years, and was the Percussion Ensemble Coach at Lawrence High School for 20 years. Additionally, Steve maintains a private studio of weekly/intermittent students who have achieved honors such as BOA Honor Band, KMEA Workshop soloists, KMEA State and District Concert/Jazz Band selections, and numerous first division ratings at KSHSAA Regional and State Contests.
Steve’s most recent project includes a new recording, Shadows Before Now (Instrumentals, Vol. 2), which was released on his Bandcamp page in November 2024.
