Stephen Pepper is a Georgia native with a background in guitar and choral conducting. After completing his undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University and his Master's degree at Georgia State University, he taught middle school choirs, guitar, voice, piano lessons, and general music at Sequoyah Middle School in Dekalb County. In 2018, Stephen joined the CMC Atlanta faculty to teach guitar, piano, voice, music appreciation, and children’s music skills. His philosophy is to teach not only to enjoy and be able to read western notation of music, but also nurture musical independence, understand historical context, and use singing skills to support the pillars of music.