Matthew Stewart is a New York City-based trombonist, Arts administrator and production manager. He began his musical training in public school at age 9, starting first on euphonium and tuba and transitioning to tenor trombone in college. Pursuing his career as a musician, educator and administrator, Matthew attended The State University of Buffalo, completing a BA in Music Performance, and The College of Performing Arts at The New School MA in Orchestral Performance. His instrumental teachers include Weston Sprott and Demian Austin (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Jonathan Lombardo (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) and David Taylor, a legendary bass trombonist and international soloist.

Moving to New York in 2013 for graduate school, Matthew has been grateful for the many opportunities to perform throughout the city. Aside from the Chelsea Symphony, which he considers himself very fortunate to be a part of, he performs with ensembles such as Press Start Video Game Orchestra, New Amsterdam Opera Orchestra and various other groups in the Tri-State area. His experience as a teacher includes teaching beginner trombone and coaching orchestral brass from 2016 to 2018 with El Nucleo Corona, an El Sistema based program in Queens, NY.

Matthew’s musical training and performance experience draws from an array of styles and artistic disciplines, ranging from orchestral, opera and chamber music to jazz, musical theater and new music. Driven by the connection between artist and audience, his passion for music is propelled by the excitement and thrill of live performance and the personal connections made through music. The culmination of his time at grad school ended with an interdisciplinary collaboration: Multiple Personalities, where he spearheaded the technology design of a novel concept for orchestra and soloist with interactive real-time visuals generated by audio/video input and motion capture sensors. This project was publicly featured as part of the Düsseldorf Festival in Germany in 2016 and selected as part of the Emerging Exhibit from the USA for 2019 Prague Quadrennial and USITT Stage Expo 2019.

Throughout his orchestral training and performance career he has had the privilege of performing at renowned halls in New York City including Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Salvation Army’s Centennial Hall, Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse, El Teatro at El Museo Del Barrio, the DiMenna Center, among other venues and churches. Notable performances include performing with a brass quintet alongside the New York Choral Society at Alice Tully Hall, bandleader for a student-led electroacoustic ensemble-The Mannes/Jazz Ensemble at The New School, and performing as a featured soloist with the University at Buffalo Wind Ensemble. Not shy from taking a gig, Matthew has also embraced his public school background and has performed in marching and brass bands, particularly enjoying the opportunity to play the bombardino part of Peruvian Catholic marching processions.

Matthew currently works as Associate Director of Production at Manhattan School of Music and lives in Washington Heights with his lovely wife Tabitha Glista-Stewart, herself an accomplished flutist and Arts administrator, and their lively and adorable Australian shepherd Zoey.