Matthew Straw’s first memories are of his parents’ rehearsals — sitting in the basement, listening to singers in his dad’s Strawsinger Vocal Studio. Every Saturday, he and his dad tuned in to the Metropolitan Opera live radio broadcast as Straw followed along to the score.
A Columbia native, Straw’s parents, Michael and Melissa, both choral conductors and music educators, involved Straw in the Columbia arts scene early on. He learned from mentors such as music teachers Beverly Kyriakos, Mary Manulik and Sutu Forte, composer and musician Stefan Freund and Missouri Symphony conductor emeritus Kirk Trevor. These people fostered his love for music.
“It’s a musical town, and I think I was just around so many people that loved it that I started loving it, too,” Straw said.
Now finishing his graduate degree at the Eastman School of Music, Straw was recently named the assistant conductor of the Utah Symphony for the 2023-24 season. The Utah Symphony is one of roughly 20 52-week orchestras in the U.S. The symphony has toured internationally and has 85 full-time musicians who perform over 175 concerts each season, according to its website.
Working alongside Creative Partner David Robertson (former music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) and Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer, Straw will conduct the orchestra in over 70 performances, including the Deer Valley Music Festival, Film Series and Family Series concerts.
He will also lead many of the symphony’s education performances for elementary and secondary school students. The symphony’s education initiative includes “Fifth Grade Concerts” every season and performances in schools statewide.
“What I really believe, and the reason that I do this, is music touches us in ways that words can’t,” Straw said. “And it’s a cathartic force. It’s a force that brings people together, and I feel like everybody deserves to have that in their life.”
As a conductor, Straw is drawn to the direct transfer of energy between him and the musicians. He grew up taking ballet classes at the Perlman-Stoy School of Ballet in Columbia and said conducting allowed him to embody music similarly to dance.
“When you get in front of 90 people and you’re driving the ship, it just feels like you’re driving the most amazing sports car of all time,” Straw said. “It just feels unbelievable.”
Now reaching a new step in his young career, Straw said he would not be in his position without his foundation in Columbia. In 2015, he graduated from Hickman High School, where he was a cellist, pianist and vocalist, before attending Oberlin College.
“I want to encourage people in town who think, ‘Oh, we’re just from a smaller, mid-sized town, maybe our resources aren’t that great,’ I just want to convince those people that your kid really can make it from here,” Straw said.
