Matthew Straw begins as Utah Symphony’s assistant conductor this fall. Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones.
The Utah Symphony has appointed Matthew Straw as assistant conductor, beginning in the 2023-24 season. Straw’s appointment was made by Music Director Thierry Fischer (who will become Music Director Emeritus at the end of the 2022-23 season) following the recommendation of an audition and interview panel comprised of Utah Symphony musicians and staff members. Straw will work with Creative Partner David Robertson and Thierry Fischer; lead many of the symphony’s concerts for elementary and secondary school students; and will conduct select Deer Valley Music Festival, Film Series, and Family concerts, along with other programs. Straw is a two-time winner of the Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation US, and he received the 2019 Helen F. Whitaker Conducting Fellowship at the Aspen Conducting Academy. Straw has worked with the Des Moines Metro Opera, New World Symphony, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Salzburg Festival, and has participated in masterclasses with Stéphane Denève, Cristian Măcelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Michael Tilson-Thomas, and Robert Spano. A current graduate student in conducting at the Eastman School of Music, he holds degrees in music and philosophy from the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.
