Stephen Mager holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he also completed his master’s studies. His teachers have included Jan Harrington, Julius Herford, Thomas Binkley, Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, Robert Porco, Dale Warland, John Poole, and Carmen-Helena Tellèz. His doctoral recitals included performances of Stravinsky’s Mass; L’Enfance du Christ by Hector Berlioz; and Mager’s own Missa Lucis. Dr. Mager was conductor of the Masterworks Children’s Chorus from 1989 until 2000. Other conducting credits include the Arcangeli Chamber Chorus; The Providence Singers, Saint Louis; St. Louis Chamber Chorus; The Baden Chamber Orchestra; Saint Louis University Chorale; and education outreach performances for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Washington National Opera.

An active composer, Stephen Mager has written extensively for chorus and orchestra. His works have been performed by such distinguished ensembles as the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus; VocalEssence, Minnesota; and the Dallas Symphony Chorus. His opera, Dream of the Pacific, was commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition (2004), and subsequently produced by Opera Omaha (2005), Kansas City Lyric Opera (2005), and Washington National Opera (2006). His choral symphony, Sinfonia Pastorale, received its premiere in 1995 with the Masterworks Chorale under Dr. A. Dennis Sparger. From 2004 until 2021, Dr. Mager was the composer-in-residence for the Bach Society of Saint Louis, which commissioned several major choral works: an Easter choral cycle, The Lamb’s High Feast (2005); I saw eternity (2006); and in 2008, Missa Lucis (“Mass of Light”). His Te Deum for chorus and organ was premiered by the Bach Society in 2012. His publishers include Oxford University Press and MorningStar Music.