Jacob Stephens currently serves as Director of Bands at Myrtle Grove Middle School in Wilmington, NC. Mr. Stephens oversees the 6th-8th Grade Concert Bands as well as the Pep Band and Percussion Ensemble. In addition to this position, he serves as the Percussion Director for Eugene Ashley High School Marching Band.

In addition to teaching, Mr. Stephens is an active percussionist in Wilmington. He is currently the Principal Percussionist of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. He also performs regularly as a percussionist with the Wilmington Symphonic Winds, Opera House Theatre Company, and Cape Fear Chorale. Before moving to Wilmington, Mr. Stephens became the youngest member of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra after winning the position of Section Percussion in 2019. Mr. Stephens aged-out of Drum Corps International as a member of the front ensemble with the Santa Clara Vanguard in 2019 where they won the DCI Bronze Medal and Fred Sanford High Percussion Award. He was an attendee of the 2018 Aspen Music Festival and School where he studied percussion with Cynthia Yeh (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Edward Stephan (San Francisco Symphony). Mr. Stephens has also performed with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and Piedmont Wind Symphony. 

Mr. Stephens graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor's of Music in Music Education in 2020, graduating magna cum laude.  While at UNCG, Mr. Stephens performed with the University Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Casella Sinfonietta, Percussion Ensemble, and Steel Band. He performed with the Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble at the 2018 and 2019 NCMEA conferences. He studied percussion with Dr. Eric J. Willie and music education with Dr. Jennifer Walter, Dr. Rebecca MacLeod, and Dr. Constance McKoy. 

In his free time, Mr. Stephens enjoys playing golf, riding his bike in town, and sitting on the couch watching TV with his cat, Charlie.