School of Music

Steven W. Eggleston is currently Professor of Music at Illinois Wesleyan University and Music Director and Conductor for the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra and the IWU Wind Ensemble.  In 1979, his first year at Illinois Wesleyan, Mr. Eggleston founded the Wind Ensemble, which he has conducted since its inception.  In 1984, he also founded the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra.  As conductor of the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra, Mr. Eggleston has worked with such distinguished musicians as composers Arvo Part, Karel Husa, Joseph Schwantner John Corigliano William Bolcom and Peter Schickele, as well as pianist Awadagin Pratt, cellist Laszlo Varga, baritone Roger Roloff, and trumpeters Armando Ghitalla and Anthony Plog.  Mr. Eggleston's ensembles have made appearances in such venues as the College Band Directors' National Association Conference, the Illinois Music Educators' Association Conference, and CBS's Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt.  From 1991-1998, Mr. Eggleston also served as Artistic Director of the Central Illinois Youth Symphony (Peoria).

Mr. Eggleston is widely recognized as a teacher of conducting and maintains an active schedule as guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States.  He has been a guest conductor for Illinois and Indiana All-State Orchestras and Bands and the University of Illinois String Consortium, as well as the Peoria Symphony, Champaign/Urbana Symphony, Volgograd (Russia) Philharmonic, the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Muncie (IN) Symphony.  With his chamber orchestra, Mr. Eggleston recorded Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony and concert aria, Infelice, in a compact disc project with Novitas Records.

Mr. Eggleston is also Professor of Trumpet at Illinois Wesleyan.  His trumpet teachers have included Frank Kaderarbek (Philadelphia Orchestra), Clifford Lillya (University of Michigan), and Delbert Dale (Tokyo and Indianapolis Symphonies).

Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Mr. Eggleston received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Butler University and his Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with H. Robert Reynolds.  His wife, Mary, is an elementary music teacher in the Bloomington, Illinois schools.  They have two daughters, Elizabeth, concertmaster of the Midland/Odessa Symphony (Texas), and Sarah, an elementary school teacher in Waukee, Iowa.