Matthew Dean
Musician, curator, and nonprofit leader
"Stirring vocalism" and "stellar" collaboration - Chicago Tribune
About
As a performer of early music, Matthew Dean is a versatile tenor and countertenor regarded for his “ringing sound, cantorial fluency, and elegance.” In new music idioms he has been cited for his "stellar" vocal advocacy and commissioning of new choral works. Based in Chicago, he is a regular member of The Newberry Consort, Transept, Bella Voce and The Oriana Singers. With the Rockefeller Chapel Choir and Grace Lutheran Vespers he has performed as Evangelist in the Bach Passions and soloist in cantatas and oratorios from the Baroque to the present.
As a program curator, his work with The Rose Ensemble, Schola Antiqua, and His Majesty’s Men has been highlighted by the The New Yorker, the BBC, and WFMT. Trained in anthropology, art history, and humanistic leadership, he served on the faculty of the Madison Early Music Festival, and has created in-gallery audio recordings and performances to illuminate artifact collections at The Art Institute, The Met Cloisters, The Newberry Library and The Morgan Library. As a visual arts curator, storyteller, and researcher in art-making ethics, he is a member of the NeuroArts Resource Center and the American Alliance of Museums.
Experience
Nonprofit management
Dean has served in the leadership of the Schola Antiqua of Chicago Foundation since 2002, concurrently directing operations and strategy with two UChicago teams for over 20 of those years. He has consulted for many Chicago-area nonprofit organizations including The Newberry Consort. He holds a masters degree in Ethics and Leadership from UChicago's Graham School. With celebrated conductor Bill Chin, he founded The Rookery Choir, and developed the Oriana Vocal Collection of collaborative ensembles.
Curation
Campus exhibitions Dean curated include Ultra High Resolution, Dancing For My Tribe, Neurotheology, Cosmic Consciousness, Columns of Thought, and The Bridge. He designed the Concrete Happenings Arts Lobby for UChicago Arts in 2016. Host institutions for concert programs he developed include the Art Institute of Chicago, The Morgan Library, The Perimeter Institute, and The Cloisters Museum.
Performance
In addition to his active professional singing career, Dean is a classical and jazz pianist and Irish traditional musician. He has appeared on tours as diverse as Video Games Live!, RBG in Song, and Andrea Bocelli In Concert, and with ensembles including Eighth Blackbird and the Haymarket Opera Orchestra.
He has been featured in the premieres of new choral works by William Bolcom, James MacMillan, Shulamit Ran, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, and Sven-David Sandström, and treasures lines written with his voice in mind by Jonathan Woody, Patrice Michaels, James Kallembach, and Nathaniel Adams. An avid traveler, he has performed medieval chant on the Camino de Santiago and folk music on Siberia's Lake Baikal.
Teaching
Dean has served on the faculty of the Madison Early Music Festival, and as a guest clinician with the Pro Musica Youth Chorus and The Rose Ensemble. He has developed programs and pre-concert lectures for The Schola Antiqua, The Rookery, and The Newberry Consort. He taught in the Common Core at The University of Chicago, and at the Instituto para Investigaciones Prehistóricas in Santander, Spain.
Fundraising
Dean has sustained individual and institutional (corporate and foundation) advancement efforts as an analyst, grant writer, and frontline fundraiser for The University of Chicago and many local performing arts causes, including at major and leadership gift levels. Proficient in databases and CRM systems, he is trained in contemporary AI research tools and data ethics, and is a member of Forefront, which originated as The Donors Forum.
Intercultural
Through the Harran Productions Foundation, the Hassan Institute for Interfaith Encounter, and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Dean has produced many interfaith concert experiences and written about the interreligious history of Chicago. His professional vocal residencies have included high holidays at Rodfei Zedek Congregation and the Kaplan Concert Series at Anshe Emet in addition to regular appearances at Chicago church parishes. As an ethnographer and observer of art across cultures, he trained with Michael Camille and Omar McRoberts.
Education
Master of Arts in Ethics and Leadership
Graduate studies in Art History
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Certifications in archaeological fieldwork, ethnography, and vocal performance