Charles Steck, Associate Conductor

Charles Steck is Associate Director of Bands and Choirs at LaPorte High School and Professor of Trumpet at Valparaiso University. He holds both the degrees Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music from Valparaiso University.

He has taught at LaPorte High School since 1994. Mr. Steck works with the Concert Band, the Symphonic Band, the Men's Chorus, the Jazz Lab Band, and teaches Music Theory and Music History.

Mr. Steck performs regularly as a trumpeter with the St. Joseph (Michigan) Municipal Band and the LaPorte Municipal Band, in addition to the Tom Milo Big Band, Windiana, and the Duneland Brass Quintet. He has made several guest appearances as a soloist and clinician, most recently as cornet soloist under the direction of noted Sousa expert Keith Brion with the Valparaiso University Chamber Concert Band.

His orchestral work features him serving as the Principal Trumpet of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1980. He first joined the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra when he was in high school, during the orchestra's very first season. He has also conducted the orchestra in three different concerts throughout the years. In 2003, he also became Principal Trumpet of the Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra.

At Valparaiso University, Mr. Steck has a trumpet studio where he instructs ten to fifteen students every year. He also coaches and conducts the Valparaiso University Trumpet Choir, which has made several appearances at the Indiana Music Educator's Association conventions, as well as guest appearances with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra and the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra.

He resides in LaPorte, Indiana with his wife, Mary, an oboist with the symphony, and their two children. They are members of Bethany Lutheran Church, where Mr. Steck directs the Sanctuary Choir.