"Steve Long (he/him) is a queer composer, pianist, improviser and native Brooklynite. Long's musical education traverses New York's uptown/downtown esthetic divide. At an early age he studied improvisation and composition with Kitty Brazelton and Jim Pugliese. He went on to study composition with Nils Vigeland at the Manhattan School of Music before receiving his B.A. in linguistics from the American University of Rome. He holds an M.A. from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Bruce Brubaker, Anthony Coleman, Joe Morris and Stratis Minakakis.

His work explores the relationship between composition and improvisation. He is fascinated by the relationship between the musical ear and the score; the spontaneous understanding or reaction to a musical situation as opposed to the visual representation of ideas. This fascination leads him to questions about the fundamental materials of music and the many layers of social interaction that go into music-making. He attempts to understand the unique structures of these interactions; he seeks to utilize their color, weight and gravity as actual material in his work. It is only when working this closely with others that he feels he is truly getting to the core of his own creative identity.

As pianist/composer he leads PRNCX, a group dedicated to playing his improvisation-based compositions. Most notably he has been commissioned by the vocal trio Chatterbox (Isabel Crespo Pardo, Priya Carlberg, Jolee Gordon), flautist Isabel Lepanto Gleicher of the International Contemporary Ensemble, vocalist Virginia Warnken of Roomful of Teeth, vocalist Jane Sheldon, and Liminal Space Ensemble.

Long is a member of groups including the multi-keyboard ensemble MAMMOTH and Vanitas (in duo with bassist Henry Fraser). Current collaborative projects include co-songwriting and arranging with Benjamin Lazar Davis and Kim Anderson and a duo piano exploration of Duke Ellington's music with Utsav Lal.

As an organizer and curator, he has cofounded music series across the east coast including the Pentiment series based in Philadelphia, PA which showcases emerging and established artists from various genres and Noise Night, a Boston based free-improvisation session dedicated to creating a space for experimental artists of all ages to meet and play.

His recordings include Ponticular on NotArt records and Yarrow on the Biophilia label. A new solo record is slated for release in Fall 2021. This new work, Code-Talker, was written and recorded in 2019 for the newly restored Aeolian-Skinner Organ (Op. 985) at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University. Forthcoming releases also include collaborations with Anthony Coleman, Benjamin Lazar Davis, and Kim Anderson."