Described as “powerful and elegant” by Neeme Järvi, Matthew Straw enjoys meaningful artistic collaborations on both sides of the Atlantic. As the Assistant Conductor of the Utah Symphony, Matthew works with Creative Partner David Robertson and Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer, and will conduct over 70 performances during the 2023-24 season. In addition, he will assist Kazushi Ono and the Brussels Philharmonic periodically. A two-time winner of the Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation US, Matthew became the youngest awardee in the history of the foundation in 2022. In addition, he received the Helen F. Whitaker Conducting Fellowship at the 2019 Aspen Conducting Academy.
In recent seasons, Matthew has conducted the Des Moines Metro Opera, New World Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic, and has served as assistant conductor for the Saint Louis Symphony, Salzburg Festival and ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a student, Matthew has been accepted to conducting programs at Aspen, Cabrillo, Tanglewood, and the Järvi Academy, and has participated in masterclasses with Stéphane Denève, Cristian Măcelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Michael Tilson-Thomas, and Robert Spano. He is a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he received an MM in conducting and holds degrees in conducting, piano, voice and philosophy from the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. At Eastman, Matthew studied with Neil Varon, and at Oberlin, he studied with Salvatore Champagne, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Raphael Jimenez, Gregory Ristow, and Tim Weiss.
Matthew is represented by Rachel van Walsum of Maestro Arts.