Steve Parker (artist)

Raised in Chicago, Parker is of Lebanese descent. He earned a double major in music and mathematics from Oberlin College and Conservatory, graduating in 2002. Initially trained as a trombonist, he later developed an interest in experimental and technology-driven art practices, including computer programming and neural networks. He subsequently earned advanced degrees in music from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin. == Career ==

After completing his studies, Parker became active in Austin's arts community as both a trombonist and organizer. He curated SoundSpace, a multidisciplinary music series at the Blanton Museum of Art that brought together performers from diverse genres in immersive, site-specific events. In 2021, he was awarded the Rome Prize in Design by the American Academy in Rome, where he developed Futurist Opera, a multimedia performance incorporating wearable sound suits and experimental instruments. In 2025, Parker was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at National Taiwan University, where he developed hybrid instruments in collaboration with Taiwanese musicians, instrument makers, and noise artists. Parker is the artistic director of COLLIDE Arts, a nonprofit organization that supports interdisciplinary performance and public art in Austin. He also serves as Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at San Antonio's School of Music, where he leads the trombone studio and directs new music initiatives. His artistic practice spans sound sculpture, interactive installation, and large-scale community performance. Drawing on salvaged musical instruments and found materials, Parker creates public artworks and kinetic sculptures that often incorporate community participants, including marching bands, choirs, and urban wildlife such as bat colonies and flocks of grackles. These works frequently explore systems of control, sonic meditation, and interspecies communication, and emphasize audience engagement and participation. As a trombonist, Parker has premiered over 200 new works, with a focus on extended techniques and electronic augmentation. He is a frequent collaborator with the contemporary ensemble Signal in New York and has performed at institutions and festivals including the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center Festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's in/SIGHT series, the Lucerne Festival, MASS MoCA, SXSW, and Tanglewood. His multidisciplinary collaborations blend elements of installation, public ritual, and experimental sound performance. == Notable works ==

• Bat/Man (2016) – A large-scale outdoor sound performance created for the Fusebox Festival in Austin, incorporating bat echolocation calls alongside human performers using conch shells, funnel pipes, and megaphones. The performance took place near a colony of approximately 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats under Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge, combining natural and human-produced sounds. The work has been the subject of scholarly articles in Sounds, Ecologies, Musics, Sound Studies, and Musicultures. • Grackle Call (2018) – A site-specific soundwalk in downtown Austin that directed participants to the roosting sites of great-tailed grackles. Installed at KMFA's facility, the installation consists of indoor musical sculptures designed to respond to user interaction. • Futurist Listening (2020–21) – A solo exhibition first presented at CUE Art Foundation in New York (2020) and later at Rich Mix in London (2021). Curated by Marcela Guerrero, the exhibition featured sonic headwear and acoustic sculptures constructed from brass instruments. The works referenced WWII-era audio tactics such as jamming signals, coded messages, and air-raid sirens, reinterpreted in the context of contemporary protest and communication. • Foghorn Elegy (2021) – A public sound sculpture and outdoor performance featuring foghorn-like instruments and a decommissioned communication tower, exploring themes of obsolete nautical communication. Debuted at Laguna Gloria (The Contemporary Austin), the work incorporated handmade brass instruments and maritime signals in a live outdoor event. The performance featured local musicians, including a sousaphone ensemble and vocalists, who activated the sculptures at sunset. • FIGHT SONG (2022–present) – An interactive installation and performance project featuring over 40 salvaged marching band instruments suspended from the ceiling, activated in real time by visitors' brainwave data via EEG headset. As a viewer reads a silent meditation from a music stand, their neural activity generates a 16-part composition played by the instruments around them. First presented at Art League Houston (2022), with solo exhibitions at SPACES, Cleveland (2026) and Locust Projects, Miami (2026). • Golem (2023) – An interactive sonic installation exploring themes of AI and mythology through kinetic sculptures and sound elements inspired by the golem legend. Presented at Sculpture Month Houston in the exhibition *The Sleep of Reason – The Fragmented Figure*, curated by Volker Eisele. • Shēng Rebirth (笙聲生) (2025) – A sound art project combining salvaged Taiwanese instruments with dried plant matter, motors, and field recordings of tree frogs to create hybrid musical sculptures. Developed during Parker's Fulbright Senior Scholar residency at National Taiwan University and presented at King Car Cultural Center (金車文藝中心), Taipei. Supported by the Fulbright Program, the Asian Cultural Council, and KCCA. • HOUSTON IS SINKING (2027, in progress) – A public sound art project examining land subsidence in Houston—one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world—through interactive sonic sculptures made from antiquated nautical devices and a large-scale foghorn choir performance in Galveston Bay. Supported by a Creative Capital Award and Musiqa. == Public art ==

• Sound Garden (2019) – Permanent interactive sound installation at KMFA, Austin. • Invisible Music (2024) – Public sound installation at City Place, Spring, Texas. • Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (in progress) – Permanent public art commission for the curbside arrivals area, part of the Journey With AUS expansion program. Commissioned through the City of Austin Art in Public Places Program. • Wild Sounds (2025–2027, in progress) – A curated series of performances, workshops, and installations at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, one of the largest botanical gardens in the United States. == Influences ==

Parker's work is influenced by avant-garde music and historical sound practices. He has cited the Deep Listening philosophy of composer Pauline Oliveros as a significant influence on his approach to sound and audience engagement. His projects often incorporate concepts of attentive and participatory listening, as advocated by Oliveros. As part of his Rome Prize project, he incorporated influences from Futurist sound experiments and Guglielmo Marconi's early radio innovations to design new sonic performances. Many of Parker's installations examine the historical use of sound in warfare and surveillance, incorporating elements such as World War II acoustic radar devices, coded military signals, and propaganda techniques. His work frequently repurposes tools originally developed for conflict—such as sirens, megaphones, and communication towers—to explore their use in community-building, protest, and social engagement. == Awards and recognition ==

• 2025 Texas State Artist for Sculpture: One of Texas's highest artistic honors, awarded by the Texas Commission on the Arts. • Creative Capital Award (2025): Parker was named a 2025 Creative Capital grantee for his project Houston is Sinking, which incorporates obsolete navigational tools into a sound art piece addressing land loss. • Harpo Foundation Grant (2026): Parker received a grant for Visual Artists from the Harpo Foundation. • Rome Prize (2021): Parker received the Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize, which supported a residency at the American Academy in Rome in 2021. Earlier in his career, he also received a Fulbright Fellowship for artistic projects in Germany. • Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2025): Parker received a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council to support cultural exchange in the arts during his residency in Taiwan. • Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant: Parker received a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, which provides support for mid-career artists. • McKnight Visiting Composer (2023): Parker was appointed a McKnight Visiting Composer by the American Composers Forum, a residency supporting community-based sound projects in Minnesota. • '''Tito's Prize (2018):''' Awarded by Big Medium in Austin, this prize included a $15,000 grant and a solo exhibition during the East Austin Studio Tour. • Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize – New Media (2020): An international award based in London for emerging artists. Parker won in the New Media category in 2020. == Partial discography ==

• Nearly Extinct with Henry Kaiser / Steve Parker / Damon Smith / Chris Cogburn (Balance Point, 2016) • Shelter with Ensemble Signal and Bang on a Can (Cantaloupe Music, 2013) == References ==