Charles Stegeman
Canadian born violinist Charles Stegeman made his recital debut at age seven in Banff (Alberta, Canada) with Boris Roubakine (pianist of Hubay) and debuted as soloist with the Banff Festival Orchestra at age nine in Banff Alberta, Canada. He was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 13 where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree by the age of 20, including academic coursework at prestigious Haverford College. Stegeman continued his formal music education at the Juilliard School where he earned a Masters Degree of Music Performance and worked towards an Artist Diploma. Stegeman’s teachers include: Esther Glazer, Paul Stassevitch, Ivan Galamian, Nathan Milstein, Jaime Laredo, David Cerone, Paul Makanovitsky, Joseph Gingold, Dorothy Delay, Zvi Zeitlin, Joseph Fuchs, Stuart Canin, and Sally Thomas.
In the area of chamber music he studied with Mischa Schneider (Budapest Quartet), Isadore Cohen, Manahem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio), Felix Galimir, Michael Tree, David Soyer (Guarneri String Quartet), Donald McInnes, Janos Starker, William Primrose, Zara Nelsova, Ruggiero Ricci, and Zoltan Szekely to name only a few. He attended several International Summer Music Festivals such as the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, CA), the Banff School of Fine Arts (Banff, Alberta), the Meadowmount School of Music (Westport, NY), the Ravel Festival (St. Jean de Luz, France), and the International Master classes with Nathan Milstein (Zurich, Switzerland). Stegeman has appeared as soloist with orchestra in many countries including Canada with the Vancouver Symphony with Gerard Schwarz conducting, France with the Toulouse Orchestre Symphonique with Jan Pascal Tortellier conducting, RTB Orchestra in Belgium with Serge Baudo conducting, the U.S. with the Kansas City Symphony with Bill McLaughlin conducting, and with the New York Chamber Players in Grammercy Park also with Bill McLaughlin conducting, as well as in all the festivals he performs with currently. He is sought after as a master class clinician giving classes internationally at La Systema throughout Venezuela, The Bejing Central Conservatory, Bejing China as well as in the United States and Canada. Mr Stegeman has averaged 50 concerts a year for 35 years and has averaged 100,000 audience size annually for 35 years as well. So he has been heard by over 3.25 million listeners live and performed over 1750 concerts in a leadership position on four continents.
Stegeman has appeared as a Columbia Artist performer for 10 years with the Canterbury and Sartory Piano Trios where he replaced David Cerone (former Director of the Cleveland Institute of Music). Other chamber music collaborations include Cynthia Phelps and Carter Brey (Principal Violist and Cellist of the NY Philharmonic respectively), Zara Nelsova, Peter Salaff (Cleveland Quartet), Jennifer Langham, Gerome Lowenthal (The Juilliard School), Henri Temiyanka, Don McInnes, Ron Leonard (The Colburn School and former principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), Nico Abondolo, Richard O’Neill, Paul Coletti, Timothy Cobb (Principal Bass of the Metropolitan Opera of NY), and the Takacs Quartet. While working towards his Doctorate at the University of Michigan, Stegeman accepted a joint position with the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the Kansas City Symphony as Concertmaster and Artist in Residence. A winner of 5 national competitions and 1 international violin competition (CMC in Montreal), Mr. Stegeman averages approximately 50 concerts a year as Concertmaster, Chamber Musician, and Soloist in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and The Caribbean.
Well known for his artistic vision in the creation of music festivals, Stegeman has founded, Co-Founded or advised several festivals including the Western Slope Music Festival now the Crested Butte Festival in Crested Butte, CO), the Sunflower Music Festival (Topeka, KS), Buzzards Bay Music Festival (Cape Cod, MA), and Music Fest Midwest (Kansas City, KS). He also has served as Concertmaster at international festivals such as the St. Barth’s Music Festival in the French West Indies, the Music Academy of the West (2000-2003), the French/American Chamber Ensemble in the Cher Valley, France (1991-1997), the Canadian National Repertory Orchestra in Hamilton, Ontario, and the FEMUSC Festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil where he is still active presently. Stegeman has been involved in the raising of millions of dollars to support classical music at his festivals and is an avid commissioner and performer of music of our time. As well, he serves on boards throughout the country that promote Chamber music and the musical arts.
A frequent soloist throughout his 40 year performance career he has played around the world in many of the major cities in North America and Europe as well as Brazil and China.
Having resided in Pittsburgh for almost 30 years, Stegeman was for 25 years Chair of Strings at Duquesne University and from 2001-2015 Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA). He holds the position of Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and is the Concertmaster of Andrea Bocelli’s West-Coast Tours, a position he has enjoyed for the last 15 years. He is a frequent featured performer of the On the Bluff Chamber Music Series with guest artists such as Donald McInnes, James Campbell, Anne Martindale-Williams (Principal Cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), Randolph Kelly (Former Principal Violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), and Andres Cardennes (former Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra). The 15 year series has featured the chamber music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, assorted French composers, and Robert Schumann as well as themes from select countries and eras in music.
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He is currently Professor of Violin at Duquesne University. His students are found in the ranks of major symphony orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. They can also be found in positions as professors in conservatories, universities and as winners of major competitions. A recipient of many awards, grants, and scholarships for his various activities, Mr. Stegeman has also recorded on Sony Classics with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and is published in Chamber Music America. Regularly heard on NPR, he plays a Nicolo Gagliano violin dated 1776 and an Arcus Cadenza carbon-fiber bow. He is married to Rachel Stegeman, an accomplished violinist, and has four children Luke 25, Michael 20, Gabrielle 14, and Adam 13.