A sought-after leader in today’s orchestral landscape, Dr. Matthew Aubin cultivates musical excellence through an innovative, community-minded, and inclusive approach.
Dr. Aubin currently serves as Music Director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Director of The Chelsea Symphony. In his role at TCS, he has led highly visible collaborations with partners such as actor John Lithgow, award-winning television series Mozart in the Jungle, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Dr. Aubin has played a principal role in the initiation and development of The Chelsea Symphony’s annual competition for emerging composers with high profile adjudicators such as Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony and music director of the All-Star Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz. Dr. Aubin has led TCS in their Lincoln Center debut and conducted the New York City premieres of works by Mark O’Connor, Fazil Say and Caroline Shaw, among others.
As a consultant for the Amazon Prime series Mozart in the Jungle created by Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, Dr. Aubin was the off-camera conductor for an episode filmed on Rikers Island. Since then, Dr. Aubin has continued a relationship with the NYC Department of Correction, designing and conducting a series of concerts and education initiatives for detainees, both in person and online. He also served as the onstage conductor for the film Bel Canto with Julianne Moore and has been an artistic consultant for the hit television show Younger.
In his role as Music Director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Aubin has transformed the orchestra’s visibility, both in the community and on a national scale. He has collaborated with world-renowned soloists such as pianist Pascal Rogé, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, cellist and composer Jeremy Crosmer, cellist Julian Schwarz, and composer Lowell Liebermann. During Dr. Aubin’s time as Music Director, the JSO’s season has expanded, and the organization is now regularly reaching audiences of all ages through expanded family concerts, education concerts, and the JSO’s Music on Tap series geared towards young adults. During the 2020 pandemic, he launched a series of digital initiatives, most notably the Random Acts of Music series. In 2022, he launched the Equal Billing Project, which records and supports the music of deceased composers who didn’t receive recognition or equal billing during their lifetime. Under Dr. Aubin’s leadership, the JSO also released a series of asynchronous, multimedia educational videos to be used in K-12 classrooms. These videos were based on the 2021 season’s virtual programming and explored musical concepts.
Dr. Aubin is the foremost scholar on the French composer Fernande Decruck. He has earned multiple research grants to study her significant life and work. In 2022, he was invited to be a panelist at the Fernande Decruck International Competition for Saxophone in France. A champion of the critical role of women in composition, Dr. Aubin is working to promote Decruck’s newly discovered lost music. He has edited and created critical editions of her work, which are published with the French publishing firm Éditions Billaudot, and has organized performances of Decruck’s music in the United States and abroad. To date, he has created two large-scale recordings alongside the Jackson Symphony Orchestra of Decruck’s orchestral works, with the first being released in 2022, and the second anticipated to be released in 2024. The first of their kind, these recordings are aimed at giving orchestras further access and insight into her brilliant work.
Dr. Aubin continues to be active as a freelance horn player, and regularly performs across the country. A devoted music educator, Dr. Aubin’s past associations include Assistant Professor of Music at Washington State University, Adjunct faculty at The Hartt School and Educational Programs Conductor for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.