The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces that Matthew Abernathy will join the Department of Conducting as an assistant professor and associate director of choirs in the fall of 2025. Abernathy will conduct the Men’s Glee Club, the University Choir, and teach conducting classes.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Abernathy back to his alma mater as he returns to join our choral faculty,” said Eugene Rogers, associate professor of conducting and director of choirs. “His deep passion for students, choral music, and opera, combined with his exceptional talent and experience, make him a perfect addition to SMTD.”
Abernathy previously served as artistic director of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, the principal chorus for the Florida Orchestra, where he led a 140-voice symphonic chorus that performed major choral-orchestral works. He continued the Master Chorale’s long-standing legacy of supporting the work of living composers and has commissioned music by Nico Gutierrez, Natalie Draper, Joan Szymko, and many others. He further developed a comprehensive community engagement program reaching all ages throughout Tampa Bay.
Abernathy also served as the music director of Minnesota Opera’s youth opera program Project Opera, their Children’s Chorus director, and guest chorus master. Prior engagements include work as the chorus master for the Lakes Area Music Festival and regular work as an assistant conductor/section leader with the Minnesota Chorale, including for their recording of Mahler Symphony No. 8 (BIS Records) with Minnesota Orchestra.
Other notable conducting appearances include the Florida Orchestra, St. Pete Baroque, Wintergreen Music Festival, Bach Society of Minnesota, Dakota Valley Symphony Chorus, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Summer Singers, Opera MODO, Arbor Opera Theater, 113 Composer Collective, and the Norfolk Chamber Choir. He has prepared choruses for conductors including Michael Francis, Chelsea Gallo, Michael Christie, Christian Reif, Osmo Vänskä, Jonathan Brandani, Nicholas Kraemer, and many others.
Abernathy was named the 2024 Grand Prize winner of the MidAmerica International Choral Conducting Competition and will make his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2026. Additionally, he was a semifinalist in – and the only American admitted to – the 2022 Fosco Corti International Competition for Choral Conductors in Turin, Italy, out of over 60 international applicants.
“I am truly humbled to be joining the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. My time as a student at SMTD was a formative point in my musical education, and I am especially excited to play a role in supporting the next generation of singers, conductors, and educators through the choral program’s creative approach to music-making,” shared Abernathy. “As the new director for the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, I’m honored to join the legacy of great conductors who have held this role before me – in particular my teachers Jerry Blackstone and Eugene Rogers – and to continue to build on over a century of musical excellence.”
Beyond his performance work, Abernathy is a devoted pedagogue and champion for music education and art-making at all ages. Previously he was the director of choral studies at the University of Tampa, where he conducted Chamber Singers and Camerata and taught the undergraduate aural skills sequence. Additionally, he has been on the faculty at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota. His academic research focuses on aural skills and musicianship as well as leadership for conductors, a topic on which he has presented at the ACDA Southern Conference.
“We are very excited to have Dr. Abernathy join the conducting faculty at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and look forward to the many contributions he will make to our esteemed choral program,” said Ellen Rowe, chair of conducting and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Music.
Abernathy has furthered his studies at the Medomak Conductors Retreat, Chorus America Conducting Academy, and Norfolk Chamber Choir Workshop. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, and Onondaga Community College.