Dean, Matthew

Matthew Dean

Matthew Dean is a storytelling tenor and countertenor regarded for his “ringing sound, cantorial fluency, and elegance” in period ensembles around the country. With the Newberry Consort since 2010, he has portrayed characters from King Alfonso X to Tintoretto on stages from the Boston Early Music Festival to Chicago’s Symphony Center. A University of Chicago-trained medievalist, Dean conducted fieldwork along the Camino de Santiago and Siberian steppe, and has developed concerts with The Rose Ensemble, His Majesty’s Men and Schola Antiqua, highlighted in turn by the BBC, WFMT, and The New Yorker. He has served on the faculty of the Madison Early Music Festival and as longtime Artist in Residence at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, where he is a frequent oratorio soloist and Bach Evangelist. In contemporary idioms, Dean has enjoyed collaborations with Quince Ensemble and Eighth Blackbird and tour stops with the Notorious RBG in Song project, Video Games Live and Andrea Bocelli. His voice has been featured to critical acclaim in premieres by James Kallembach, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, and Shulamit Ran, and can be heard on the Naxos, Discantus, Roven, Navona, and Permelia imprints. He lives in Oak Park with his family of folk singers, emerging pianists, and musical dog who frequently duets with vocal and keyboard warmups. (www.matthew-dean.com)