Pianist, Composer and “Steinway Artist,” Michael Jefry Stevens performs extensively in Europe, Latin America and North America. He has composed over 340 works for both large and small ensembles. An active band-leader for over 30 years, his current working musical ensembles include the "Conference Call Quartet," the "Fonda/Stevens Group," the Hungarian "Eastern Boundary Quartet," German vocalist Nicole Metzger’s "New York Connection”, his collaboration with New Orleans horn man, Brian “Breeze” Cayolle and “the Generations Quartet” featuring saxophonist Oliver Lake. Michael has released over 80 cds featuring his own music and has performed and/or recorded extensively with many of the top names in Jazz, including Dave Liebman, Dave Douglas, Leo Smith, Matt Wilson, Mark Feldman, Pheeroan AkLaff, Charles Moffett Sr. and many others. He was the “Margaret Lee Crofts Fellow” for 2000-2001 at the MacDowell Colony, was a Centrum Arts composer fellow (2004) and is currently on the Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s Touring Artist Roster. Mr. Stevens was artist in residence for at EMU Conservatory in La Plata, Argentina between 2005-2010, and has taught at the Royal Academy of Music in Denmark, Sibelius Academy in Finland, Centro Nacional de las Arte in Mexico, Landegg Academy in Switzerland, University of Michigan, Indiana University, Middle Tennessee State University, Arizona State University, SUNY at New Paltz, , University of Iowa, University of Memphis, and many other educational institutions in Europe, Latin America and North America. He received his Masters Degree in Music Composition and Jazz Performance from Queens College in 1993 where he studied with Henry Weinberg, Drora Pershing, Sol Berkowitz and Jimmy Heath. He currently resides in Black Mountain, NC.