Stephen was born in Newry and graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2014, where he was awarded the Cecil Kidd Prize for trumpet. After graduating, Stephen was appointed Sub-Principal Trumpet of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and in January 2015 became Professor of Trumpet at the Johann Strauss School of Music, Malta. He returned to the UK in 2017 and has since freelanced with many of the leading Irish and UK orchestras, including the Ulster Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, BBC Philharmonic, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed Principal Trumpet No. 2 of the Ulster Orchestra in 2024 and now lives in Banbridge, Co. Down.