MiraCosta College
Temecula, California
Steve Torok has performed with notable artists including Stevie Wonder, Usher, The Temptations, Adam Levine, Jamey Johnson, Four Tops, Sheila E, Barry Manilow, O'Jays, Whispers, Mary Wilson, Brian Bromberg, Pete Escovedo, Taj Mahal, and Bob Florence, among others. His saxophone playing and arrangements have been featured on numerous national recordings, including The Voice and American Idol. He has written and recorded jingles that have been aired for CNN International's audience. Renowned artists such as Fred Wesley, Kenny G, Ernie Watts, Tom Scott, Mike Stern, Brian Bromberg, and Carmen Bradford have performed his arrangements. His work appears on the contemporary jazz CDs Point of View (1998) and This Is Gospel: Inspirational Jazz (2001). His recording, Eye to Eye, co-produced by Dan Siegel, features a variety of Steve’s works, including originals, arrangements of standards, arrangements of Star Wars music (commissioned and premiered live for Lucasfilm, Ltd.), and music featuring elephant percussionists. Eye to Eye received Global Music Awards for composition, originality, and creativity. The album has been featured on San Diego’s Jazz 88.3, the international Star Wars podcast Coffee with Kenobi, and has garnered positive reviews from JAZZed Magazine, Jazz Corner, No Depression, and AXS. Steve was also highlighted in a feature article in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Steve is an award-winning faculty member at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CA. He teaches saxophone, improvisation, music theory, and history, and directs MOJO (MiraCosta Oceanside Jazz Orchestra) and the Jazz Collective. In 2023, 2022, and 2017, the jazz publication Downbeat recognized MOJO as the Large Jazz Ensemble Winner among community college bands in the national Downbeat Student Music Awards. Since 2015, MOJO has received six additional awards for Outstanding Large Jazz Ensemble Performance. The Jazz Collective earned two Downbeat Student Music Awards for Outstanding Small Jazz Combo Performance. MOJO has received commendation letters from the United States Congress and the California Legislature. Steve was selected as a presenter for the 2019 Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference in Reno, where the Jazz Collective premiered a specially commissioned work. MOJO was featured at the JEN in New Orleans and San Diego in 2024, 2017, and 2015. Steve presented at the 2017 and 2015 JEN Conferences, as well as the 2018 College Music Society Conference in Vancouver, and was invited to present at the 2019 international conference in Belgium. In Fall 2019, Steve taught in London as a faculty member for the Study Abroad Program based at the University of London. Most recently, he has been writing a textbook detailing his rehearsal and arranging techniques for small jazz ensembles. Steve is scheduled to present at the 2026 JEN Conference in New Orleans and will be the guest director for the 2026 Alabama All-State Jazz Ensemble.
Steve holds a BFA in saxophone performance from Carnegie Mellon University and an MM in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California. He has achieved ABD status in the music education doctoral program at Boston University. Steve is proud to be a Ligaphone artist and exclusively uses Ligaphone reeds and ligatures.
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Altissimo Techniques for Saxophone
Thursday, January 8, 2026
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM CST
JEN Intercollegiate Community College Honors Jazz Ensemble w/Tom Bones Malone
Saturday, January 10, 2026
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM CST
