Stephen Shipps (b. 1952) is an American violinist, concertmaster, former music educator, and convicted criminal. He taught at The University Of Michigan between 1989 and 2019, retiring after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. In October 2020, Shipps was arrested at his Ann Arbor home on two charges of transporting a minor across state lines to procure sexual activities. In April 2022, Stephen Shipps was sentenced to five years, incarcerated at FCI Elkton prison in Ohio.
Shipps earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees at Indiana University after studying with
Josef Gingold and further trained with
Ivan Galamian and
Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School and with
Franco Gulli at Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Steve Shipps began his stage career as a member of
The Cleveland Orchestra and later served as an associate concertmaster of the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster at the
Dallas Opera Orchestra,
Omaha Symphony Orchestra, and Nebraska Sinfonia. As a soloist, Shipps performed with symphony orchestras of
Indianapolis,
Seattle, and
Ann Arbor, as well as The Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and Madeira Festival Orchestra. He recorded on American Gramaphone, [l104267], [l270438], [l72457], Melodiya/[l57735], and other international labels.
Before his infamous tenure at UM, Shipps taught on the faculties of UNC School of the Arts and [l427762] in Canada and gave annual masterclasses at [l730630]. Stephen Shipps established and directed the
Cambridge International String Academy at Trinity College in Cambridge, UK.