Dr. Ian Saunders is a performer, educator, and the Artistic Director for Project STEP, an institution providing young musicians from historically underrepresented groups in classical music with comprehensive music instruction. Throughout his performance career, Dr. Saunders has appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra, The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Sphinx Symphony and more across The United States.

A committed educator, Dr. Saunders has taught in youth programs in Virginia and Maryland and was associated with Cincinnati’s El Sistema program; additionally, he has taught at the collegiate level including The University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Penn State University. Prior to Project STEP, he served on the leadership teams of The Eastern Music Festival as the Assistant Dean of Students, and The Longy School of Music as Assistant Dean for Artistic and Social Change. His insight has also been tapped to help shape the vision and future, as a board member, for Equity Arc (formerly National Instrumentalist Mentoring and Advancement Network), and Emmanuel Music in Boston, MA. In addition, he is a fellow in the prestigious Sphinx LEAD program, a 2-year leadership program designed to evolve the industry landscape by empowering the next generation of executive leaders.

Dr. Saunders earned both his bachelors and master’s degrees in double bass performance from Pennsylvania State University. He continued his studies at the University of Maryland, where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree.