Steph Davis

Steph Davis is a marimbist, composer, educator, and cultural activist who joined the Conservatory in 2024 as an instructor of core studies.

Hailed by the Washington Post as a “crisp, controlled” performer who “is engaged in deep explorations of acoustic and historical resonance,” Davis is a marimba soloist and chamber musician touring throughout the United States. Encompassing African American spirituals, the Black classical tradition, West African gyil music, and contemporary classical music, Davis’s performances push the boundaries of genre while centering African-descended people and cultures. Through their arrangements, Davis has contributed over 20 works by Black composers to the marimba’s repertoire, in addition to premiering dozens of works for marimba and vibraphone. They have been awarded residencies at the Goethe-Institut Boston, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and Boston Center for the Arts. Davis proudly endorses Marimba One instruments and mallets as a Marimba One Premier Artist.

Davis is a teaching artist with Castle of our Skins and instructor of music theory at Boston Conservatory. They have authored several culturally-responsive K-college music curricula and have presented performances, masterclasses, and lecture-recitals at the University of Central Florida, University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Center of Mallet Percussion Research at Kutztown University, and the Network for Diversity in Concert Percussion.

Davis received their Master of Music in marimba performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they studied with Nancy Zeltsman. They also hold a B.M. in percussion performance.

Davis resides on unceded land of the Neponset band of the Massachusett tribe, bordertown Boston, Massachusetts.