Esteemed trumpet artist Stephen M. Wadsack is an enthusiastic performer, music educator, arts administrator, and academic researcher. With a multifaceted artistic career that has taken him to 49 of 50 US states, as well as Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Latvia, Wadsack values meaningful connection through shared artistic experiences on stage and in the classroom.
Wadsack carries a diverse and active performance schedule, in venues ranging from jazz clubs to cathedrals. An in-demand soloist, he has performed with the Atlanta Wind Symphony (alongside Yamaha artists Jens Lindemann and Chris Martin), the Mantzaros Philharmonic (Corfu, GR), the Butler Philharmonic (Ohio), and the Georgia Brass Band (with Yamaha artist Ashley Hall-Tighe), as well as numerous collegiate and high school orchestras, wind bands, and jazz ensembles.
As an orchestral musician, notable performance credits include collaborations with the Cincinnati Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, the Georgia Symphony, and the Wyoming Symphony, among others. Wadsack is also Principal Trumpet of the Georgia Ballet Orchestra and an active top-call musician in Atlanta’s thriving freelance music industry.
Equally at home in Jazz and commercial music idioms, Wadsack regularly performs with Atlanta’s Jazz Legacy Project and the Georgia Symphony Big Band. In 2025, he performed with the national tour of the award-winning Broadway musical The Book of Mormon and regularly records for clients such as Berkshire Hathaway, Carnival and Celebrity cruise lines, and Cedar Fair Entertainment. Wadsack has performed and adjudicated at numerous jazz festivals, including Alaska’s Anchorage All-City Jazz Festival, and central Ohio’s Weekend of Jazz in Beavercreek, Ohio.
An active chamber musician, Wadsack founded Kennesaw State University’s inaugural Faculty Brass Quintet, having previously led the Wright State Faculty Brass Quintet from 2022 to 2024. His trio, Triumvirate Brass, is dedicated to exploring the flexibility, color, and diversity of writing for trumpet, horn, and trombone. As a recitalist, Wadsack has performed on numerous arts presenter and chamber music series throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and Front Range. He enjoys presenting a balance of standard repertoire alongside exciting programming by emerging and underrepresented composers.
Wadsack serves as Assistant Professor of Trumpet, Head of Brass, and Coordinator of Outreach for the Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music at Kennesaw State University. Many of his students occupy positions today as performers, teachers, arts administrators, in prestigious graduate programs, and in other positions across the music industry. Outside of musical pursuits, he enjoys connecting with friends, family, and a growing community of current and former students. He is very passionate about the outdoors, hiking, fly fishing, and traveling to new places with his wife and “adventure partner,” Casey, a fellow musician, adventurous spirit, and clinical social worker.