Stephen Costanza studied music theory and composition at Syracuse University before attending the Philadelphia College of Art to pursue a career in the visual arts. He worked as both a graphic designer and illustrator in a career that has encompassed silk screening, graphic design, and book illustration. Stephen’s background in music led him to write and illustrate the picture books Mozart Makes a Melody, and The Invisible Orchestra of Antonio Vivaldi, forthcoming from Henry Holt & Co. Stephen’s illustrations have appeared in magazines, newspapers, advertising, and textbooks, from The American Prospect and Cricket to brochures for the Boston Ballet, Four Seasons Hotel, and Boston Lyric Opera. Five of his paintings were exhibited at the 2000 Children’s Book Fair in Bologna.
Vivaldi and the Invisible Orchestra, written and illustrated by Costanza...
Costanza's pastel illustrations evoke a Venetian setting bathed in a warm glow. There is a lovely melodic quality to the text.
—School Library Journal
Mozart Finds a Melody, written and illustrated by Costanza...
Costanza is an illustrator to watch. Blending the burnished palette and twirling energy of Raul Colon, the softness of Leonid Gore, and a sense of fun that trills to a melody all its own, his paintings offer an ingenious view of eighteenth-century Vienna.
—Booklist
