About Us

Steve Shires brings over two decades of experience as a trombonist and instrument technician to the design and construction of brass instruments of unsurpassed quality and beauty. He has worked with many of the world’s greatest brass players to design new or modify existing instruments to their exacting specifications, and often beyond their most optimistic expectations.

Originally from Iowa City, Steve began working as a brass instrument technician at West Music Company while attending the University of Iowa. He began cleaning and doing small repairs on school instruments, eventually learning enough to build himself an alto trombone from spare parts. His teachers at the university—John Hill and George Krem—encouraged him to move to Chicago, where he studied with Arnold Jacobs, Frank Crisafulli and Edward Kleinhammer, members of the legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra low brass section. In addition to establishing a successful playing career, Steve worked at the Schilke shop, spinning bells for their world-renowned line of trumpets.

As early as 1986, Steve was experimenting with drawing slide tubes and an interchangeable system of bells of different alloys and thicknesses. He moved to the Boston area to work as a technician at Osmun Brass, where, in addition to doing customization and repair work for brass players from all over the world, he developed the Osmun/Shires line of custom trombone bells, which were highly sought after by professional players around the country. Osmun/Shires bells have been used throughout New England and in such orchestras as the San Francisco Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1991 Steve was hired by the Getzen Company in Wisconsin to be in charge of product development and artist relations for the Edwards line, then in the early stages of its development. He was instrumental in developing both the Edwards and newly revitalized Getzen Eterna product lines, establishing relationships with many of their clinicians by designing components and constructing instruments to meet their needs.

Steve moved back to the Boston area to pursue his own personal vision for brass instruments of the highest quality. He founded the S.E. Shires Company in 1995, building the first dozen or so instruments in the basement of his home before moving to the current workshop in Hopedale, Massachusetts. Steve’s reputation engendered immediate curiosity among trombonists, and orders from throughout the country soon followed. Distributorships were established in Germany and Japan and by 1996 S.E. Shires trombones could be heard in concert halls around the world.

Steve and his family live in Medway, Massachusetts, within five miles of his workshop. His wife, Catherine, is an actuary and amateur pianist. They have three children: Sarah; Alaina; and Nathaniel; and a Golden Retriever, Gustav (Gus), who often accompanies Steve to the shop. The shop cat, Schmützig, also makes occasional appearances.

Artist Relations/Marketing Director Gabriel Langfur is bass trombonist of the Vermont Symphony and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestras and performs regularly as a substitute with the Boston Symphony and Pops and the Boston Ballet Orchestra, as well as many freelance engagements throughout New England. He is on the faculties of Brown University and the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association, and has given solo recitals at Brandeis University, King’s Chapel, Boston, Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord, Massachusetts, and the Oberlin and New England Conservatories. Gabe was a member of the Orion Trombone Quartet, First Prize winners at the 1989 Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California. He holds a Masters Degree in Trombone Performance from New England Conservatory, as well as Bachelor of Arts (English) and Bachelor of Music Degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studied with Raymond Premru, Per Brevig, Norman Bolter and Matthew Guilford. Gabe has performed on recordings with the Boston and Albany Symphonies, Boston Symphony Principal Trombonist Ronald Barron, and the Indigo Invention Group.

Also working in Artist Relations is Wesley Hopper. Originally from Alabama, Wes is a member of the Triton Brass Quintet and a busy freelance musician in New England. He is Adjunct Professor of Trombone at Boston College, and serves on the faculties of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar.

Helping with sales at the shop or at a trombone show, you might also meet James Monaghan, who is in charge of the handslide department at the factory. James, a native Texan, is an active chamber and orchestral musician in New England. He is currently the Bass Trombonist for the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, the New England Trombone Quartet, and the Riverside Brass Quartet. Mr. Monaghan has also performed with the St. Barts Music Festival Orchestra, the Chorus Pro Musica, Emmanuel Music Symphony, the Hingham Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Symphony Orchestra of Boston, the Orquesta Sinfonica UANL in Monterrey, Mexico, the Bloomington Pops, and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. James holds a Bachelors Degree from the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied with Edwin Anderson and Carl Lenthe. He has also attended the Boston University School of Music, where he was a student of Scott Hartman.

The S.E. Shires company slogan, Quality without compromise, is more than simply a marketing tool. It is Steve’s heartfelt conviction and his fundamental principle for both manufacture and design. Nearly every part used on an S.E. Shires trombone is built in-house, and every instrument is play-tested by Steve, Wes or Gabe before it is shipped. Steve's attention to detail, both mechanical and aesthetic, is unsurpassed by any other brass instrument maker. He has parallel commitments to the highest standards of modern manufacturing, that make his instruments consistent and mechanically superior, and to the old-world craftsmanship that gives them the distinctively resonant voice appreciated by players all over the globe.

If you would like to try an S.E. Shires trombone, please contact us or one of our dealers to make an appointment or place an order. We will be happy to help you make your selection.