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, Toni Tennille, Tony Orlando, and Bob Florence, among others. His saxophone playing and arrangements have appeared on numerous national recordings, including The Voice and American Idol. He has written and recorded jingles 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). In 2014, Steve composed original music for a concert-length dance work titled A-Scent Between Stream and Consciousness, which was revised and restaged in 2018. In 2017, he adapted and arranged Prince's music for the modern dance piece “Prince 2 Prince," which was modified and restaged in 2019. 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 featured 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 premier jazz publication Downbeat recognized MOJO as the Large Jazz Ensemble Winner among community college bands in the national Downbeat Student Music Awards. MOJO has received seven 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 Conferences in New Orleans and San Diego in 2024, 2017, and 2015. Steve presented at the 2017 and 2015 JEN Conferences and the 2018 National College Music Society Conference in Vancouver, and was invited to present at the 2019 international conference in Belgium. In 2019, he taught in London as a faculty member for the Study Abroad Program based at the University of London. Steve was the guest director/featured performer for the 2026 Alabama All-State Jazz Ensemble. He was selected as director of the inaugural Intercollegiate Community College Honors Jazz Ensemble for the 2026 JEN Conference in New Orleans, and he also presented a clinic (Altissimo Techniques for Saxophone). Steve is currently writing a textbook detailing his rehearsal and arranging techniques for small jazz ensembles.

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 doctoral program in music education at Boston University. Steve is proud to be a Ligaphone artist, and he exclusively uses Ligaphone reeds and ligatures.

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