Stephen Forse is an eager young jazz trumpeter influenced by trumpeters Scott Englebright, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Bergeron and Roy Hargrove. Stephen is currently living in Houston, Texas. Stephens past achievements include Outstanding Musician awards at the University of Houston Jazz Festival, Sam Houston State University, Temple College, University of Texas, and was named the outstanding musician of the entire festival at the GCIC Jazz Festival in 2005 and 2006, and The University of Texas Jazz Festival in 2005. Stephen was named to the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble in 2005 in Los Angeles where he played lead, and was also named first in the nation for the 2006 Community College All-Star Band that took place at the IAJE convention in New York City. Stephen received the Louis Armstrong Award from his High School for his contribution to the jazz genre. Stephen has performed with Jazz greats such as Maynard Ferguson, Benny Golson, Scott Wilson, Jon Hendricks, John Secada, Al Jerreau, Eric Marienthal, Ed Lowe, Marcus Printup, Brian Lynch, Claudio Roditi, Ron Wilkins, and many more. In January of 2006 Stephen traveled to Uruguay for an all expense paid trip to play with saxophone prodigy Alex Han, with the newly formed Alex Han Quintet. Stephen was given the lead spot in the Glenn Miller Orchestra starting in 2007, and recently left the band for the lead chair aboard the Carnival Cruise Ship "Conquest". Stephen plans to attend SAE Institute of Technology and major in Audio Engineering and then The University of North Texas in the fall of 2008 and major in Jazz Studies. Stephen plays on a Bach Stradivarius Model 37 with a Marcinewicz Bobby Shew 1.5 mouthpiece and a Conn Vintage One Flugelhorn."Stephen Forse is a powerhouse lead player, a wonderful guy, and I do consider him a lead trumpet prodigy. His sound is huge, his intonation is fabulous, and he will be a major force in the jazz field for many years to come. I am happy to have worked with Steve, and it is an honor to be part of his career." -Scott Wilson"Stephen is a great combination of curiousity and talent. By gleaning motivation from those two traits, I expect him to sustain a long and succesful career. I've enjoyed the time we shared as student and teacher but even more so as colleagues, playing together on gigs. It's really fun to watch the response of veteran professionals when they see such a young guy playing so well." -Carol Morgan"Most impressive to me about Steve - in addition to his incredible skills as a trumpeter and sublime musicianship, is that he's personable and conscientious. With all of those qualities, I am certain he will go far" -Dr. Randy Snyder
