About
As a performer, Matthew Dean is a versatile tenor and countertenor regarded for his “ringing sound, cantorial fluency, and elegance” in early music and “stellar” advocacy of new music. 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 Series 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 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 for over 25 years; directed operations and strategy with UChicago teams for two decades; and has consulted for many Chicago-area nonprofit organizations. He holds a masters degree in the Ethics and Leadership concentration from UChicago Graham.
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! and Andrea Bocelli In Concert, and with ensembles including Eighth Blackbird and Haymarket Opera. He has performed medieval chant in Spain and Russian folk music in Siberia.
Teaching
Dean 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 and The Newberry Concert. He taught in the Common Core at The University of Chicago and in an archaeological field school in Spain.
Fundraising
Dean has sustained individual and organizational (corporate and foundation) advancement efforts as an analyst, writer, and frontline fundraiser for The University of Chicago and many local performing arts causes. Proficient in databases and CRM systems, he utilizes AI-enabled tools for qualification and reporting.
Interfaith efforts
Through the Harran Productions Foundation, the Hassan Institute for Interfaith Encounter, and Rockefeller 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 weekly appearances at Chicago church parishes.
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