About Mady

Mady Steffen is an active performer and educator from Grand Rapids, MI. As a performer, she holds the position of Second Flute/Piccolo with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, which she joined in 2022, after playing with the orchestra as a performance fellow since 2018. Mady makes frequent performance appearances with orchestras throughout Michigan, including the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. She was a member of the ensembles for the S’Wonderful and Best of Bernstein Broadway performances at the Wharton Center, as well as in the pit for local productions, such as The Sound of Music and Hello, Dolly! and performs as part of a Flute and Harp duo for Jackson Symphony Orchestra’s Concert Aglow series. Mady has played Flute and Piccolo for several recordings; Jackson Symphony Orchestra’s Equal Billing Project Fernande Decruck: Concertante Works and Michigan State University Wind Symphony’s Music of John Mackey (2017) and Music of Ricardo Lorenz (2019).

As an educator, Mady has an active teaching studio, teaching flute students of all ages, and is currently on faculty at the Ada Conservatory of Music, where she has taught since 2020. Alongside private lesson teaching, she has served as a sectional coach and performance clinician in many middle and high schools across Michigan. Mady has also worked as a flute technician for marching bands throughout the state, beginning in 2015, including groups such as Rockford and Jenison High Schools.

Professionally, Mady spent time working in various roles as an Arts Administrator, previously working as the Assistant Director of Education Programming for the Grand Rapids Symphony, Band Librarian for Michigan State University Bands, and developing budgets and payroll for Broadway shows at the Wharton Center, which contracted local musicians. Mady currently works as an Implementation Manager in software, in addition to maintaining her playing and teaching careers.

Mady holds a Master of Music in Music Performance from Michigan State University, where she studied with Richard Sherman, also earning a Graduate Certificate in Music Career Development. She completed her Bachelor of Music Education at Michigan State, where she earned many scholarships and awards, including the Presser Foundation Scholarship and Board of Trustees’ Scholarship Award.

When not performing and teaching, Mady enjoys spending time with her dog, Goose, crafting, and creating and recording arrangements for flute!