Stephen O’Bent (he/him) is a Seattle-based conductor, composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist with extensive experience in a variety of styles and ensembles, including choirs, orchestras, musical theater pits, jazz ensembles, and rock bands.

 

Stephen holds the position of Assistant Professor of Music at DigiPen Institute of Technology, where he conducts choirs and teaches courses in music history, conducting, and orchestration.

 

He also serves as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Congregational Church, Bellevue, UCC, where he regularly composes new works for choir and has conducted works such as Fauré’s Requiem (2017), Street Requiem (2019), and Considering Matthew Shepard: A Choral Suite (2023).  ​


As a performing member and musical director of The Flying Karamazov Brothers, the critically-acclaimed vaudeville troupe, Stephen has had the opportunity to perform in major commercial theaters in London, Madrid, Chicago, New York, San Francisco,  Los Angeles, Seattle, and elsewhere.  He has performed on five continents and appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman (twice), Good Morning America, and the BBC.



Stephen holds a M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington and B.A. in Music from Occidental College, where he graduated magna cum laude and ​Phi Beta Kappa with Departmental Honors.

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He is also half of the indie music duo PepperJill & Jack, where he acts as primary songwriter and performs on guitar, ukulele, piano, trombone, vocals, and percussion. Stephen lives in Seattle with his wife Shannon, two small children, dog Kaylee, and cat Rigby, listed in order of their willingness to join a Beatles jam.

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