Steve Thielman is recognized in the White Lake community as a beloved pianist. Dozens of locals regularly attend his weekly performances at the Book Nook and Java Shop, where he started performing in 2016.
“I really enjoy playing at the Book Nook,” Thielman said. “We’ve got a good group of people that come there every week and it’s fun. I’m glad I get to do it regularly.”
Thielman enjoys playing a variety of music, but tries his best to perform songs he knows his audience members, the majority of which are retirees, will recognize and enjoy. These include classic Disney songs, war favorites and other fun, unexpected pieces, like the “Jeopardy” theme song.
“Especially when I play at the Book Nook, I try to play a little bit of everything from classical to jazz and ragtime to pop music,” said Thielman. “I don’t have any favorites necessarily. I just try to mix it up and play a lot of different things.”
Born and raised in Whitehall, he was surrounded by older siblings who all played sports. Thielman, though, discovered his heart belonged to music at the young age of five. He later got his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Western Michigan University. While there, he toured with the WMU Symphonic Band as a pianist/keyboardist. His time with the band allowed him to travel and perform in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
“I started playing the piano when I was five years old,” Thielman said. “I’ve been doing it my whole life, really. I took lessons in Whitehall growing up, then I went to college for music. I continued taking lessons in college.”
After graduating college, he spent years touring with different bands, including Archipelago, The Flow and La Famiglia.
He looks forward to continuing performing and sharing his love of music with the White Lake community.
“My life is music,” said Thielman. “That’s all I do is play music, go to concerts, listen to music. My wife’s also like that. Music is basically the center of my life.”
