Steve Sensenig
Adjunct Faculty & Collaborative Pianist
Steve Sensenig, who hails from southeastern Pennsylvania, began playing the piano at the age of three and studied classical and sacred piano as well as music theory through most of his childhood. As a preteen, he was already accompanying his middle school choirs in their concerts and became the regular pianist at his church. Following high school, Steve went on to a dual-bachelors program at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA, receiving both a B.Mus in piano performance as well as a B.S. in Biblical Studies. During his undergraduate studies, Steve had his orchestral debut with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488. It was also during his first years of college that Steve released his first recordings, containing both his own original hymn arrangements and classical works. Steve concertized extensively in the southeast region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey during those years, as well.
Steve then moved to Texas and his focus began to expand outside of the classical and sacred world. Steve became an active session player in Austin, TX, playing on recordings of gospel, jazz, pop, and folk music. Steve also was the keyboardist for CCM trio Phillips, Craig, and Dean, and played on the globally-broadcast television show hosted by Randy Phillips called "The Awakening". As part of the house band for that show, Steve performed with a wide variety of internationally-known CCM artists, and appeared frequently on various satellite networks. While involved with that TV program, Steve released two more recordings of his own arrangements and original compositions.
In 2004, Steve moved to North Carolina where he became a freelance accompanist at Appalachian State University, and also moved into musical theatre, becoming the Music Director at the Blowing Rock Stage Company. In 2008, Steve moved to Abingdon, VA where he served as Music Director at Barter Theatre through the end of 2012. During his tenure at Barter, Steve frequently composed original music and orchestrated various shows for the stage. Since leaving Barter, Steve has played for and/or music directed musicals at various venues throughout the United States. He has also performed as pianist with several orchestras, and in 2017 fulfilled a childhood dream by performing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" as the featured piano soloist with Symphony of the Mountains.
In addition to performing, Steve has established himself as a prolific composer and orchestrator, including original pops arrangements performed by the Atlanta Pops Orchestra (featuring an entire program arranged and orchestrated by Steve for Irish singer Chloë Agnew), Symphony of the Mountains, and other orchestras. In 2018, a stage musical that Steve orchestrated was featured in an off-Broadway run during the New York Musical Festival and won a "Best in Fest" award. Steve has also had orchestrations performed by Broadway singers Liz Callaway and Judy Kuhn.
Steve has performed as a keyboardist in a variety of genres, from jazz to country to gospel to musical improv, and for several years worked as a music director and arranger with Norwegian Creative Studios, serving the performance needs of ships in the Norwegian, Oceania, and Regent cruise lines. Steve often performed on board the ships on which he was music directing, accompanying guest artists, as well as sitting in with the jazz and rock bands in the various clubs on board. He currently is the pianist with Symphony of the Mountains, accompanist for Voices of the Mountains, and accompanist for Appalachian Men's Ensemble. Known and respected especially for his collaborative work, Steve is often in high demand as an accompanist and collaborator.
In 2021, Steve received a Graduate Diploma in Film and Game Scoring from the Film Music Academy of Europe. He has scored several independent films and served on the orchestration team of composer Christopher Young. He is currently slated to compose his first feature film score in late 2024. Steve and his teenage daughter Dolly currently live in Bristol, TN.