Steven M. Zielke is the Patricia Valian Reser Professor of Music and is in his 26^th year as the Director of Choral Studies at Oregon State University. Zielke earned a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a Ph.D. in Choral Music Education at Florida State University.  Before that, he received a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, and taught for three years at both the middle and high school levels.

During his time at Oregon State, choirs under his direction have performed at state, regional, and national conferences and embarked on more than 15 international tours and festivals. Zielke is a frequent clinician and guest conductor, including the Academic Orchestra of the University of Stuttgart and the University of Tübingen Chamber Singers in Tübingen, Germany, as well as leading master classes and conducting at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Sichuan Province, China. In addition, Zielke is often invited to present workshops and lectures on choral music and music education, including a session on community singing at the 2017 National ACDA conference in Minneapolis. 

 In 2016, Zielke was awarded the Beaver Champion Award, and then again in 2023, as part of a team honored for their contributions to the creation of the Patricia Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx).  In 2025, he was named by the Oregon Music Educators Association as the John C. McManus Distinguished Teacher and by Celebrate Corvallis as the Corvallis Patron of the Arts.  He is a past-president of the Northwest Region of the American Choral Directors Association, the Executive Director of the Oregon Ambassadors of Music, and the founder and music director of the Corvallis Repertory Singers. Additionally, he serves as the Director of Music at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Corvallis and is proud to be in his 9^th year at the Voice of the Spirit and Sound of OSU, the OSU Marching Band.