For nearly two decades, Steve Leisring has been professor of trumpet at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 

Prior to that he had an orchestral position in Spain for 14 years in the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.  

 

Steve has performed and taught in 20 countries, including as an orchestral musician and soloist in Europe, Asia and USA, along  with KU’s Downbeat Award-Winning Jazz Ensemble 1 as soloist in the Kennedy Center as well as Montreux, Vienne, and Umbria Jazz Festivals in Europe. His former students occupy professional positions as principals in two national orchestras, military bands and academia in Europe and the US, and many have gone on to teaching, producing and performing careers. 

In 2006, Steve was one of the first western performers at the China Trumpet Guild annual conference, which has led to more than 24 appearances in conservatories, universities and conferences throughout China as soloist and teacher. 

 

During the 1980s while a sophomore in college, Steve discovered orchestral music for the first time and ended up studying with 25 well-known teachers over a ten year period. His “last teacher” Vincent Penzarella of the NY Philharmonic (ret), helped him immensely to put the information he had obtained into a logical approach that helped win him the first professional audition he took. This practical approach has served him well as a sought after problem solver for students of all ages. He is married to pianist Paulina Leisring, who won a Latin Grammy in 2020 for her work with trombonist Domingo Pagliuca.