B.M.E., Oral Roberts University; M.M., D.M.A., University of Kansas
Stephen Parsons serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Letters at Truman State University. Before coming to Truman, he was Director of the School of Music at Illinois State University (ISU) from 2007 until 2020. Prior to joining the ISU brass faculty in 1994, he served as trombone soloist and clinician with The United States Army Field Band in Washington, D.C. Dr. Parsons holds a BME from Oral Roberts University, MM and DMA degrees in Trombone Performance from the University of Kansas, and also studied at the Tanglewood Institute with members of the Empire Brass Quintet. His teachers include Larry Archambo, Stephen Anderson, and Milton Stevens of the National Symphony Orchestra.
An active performer, Dr. Parsons is currently a member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, and the Heartland Festival Orchestra. He has also appeared with such ensembles as the St. Louis Symphony, the Opera Theater of St. Louis, the Tulsa Opera, Opera Illinois, Sinfonia da Camera, and the New Sousa Band.
In service to higher education, he is a trained visitor for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), the specialized accreditor for academic music units within the United States. A past-president of the Association of Illinois Music Schools, he is presently a member of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD), the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), and the International Trombone Association.