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The Amertican tenor, Matthew Dean, studied Anthropology (Class of 2000) and Art history (Class of 2002) at The University of Chicago.
Matthew Dean first performed with the Clerkes as a high school guest in 1995: a benefit concert for the stained glass windows of beautiful St. James Chapel in Chicago. He was tenor soloist with the evolution of Bella Voce under Andrew Lewis, where Tormis’ Curse Upon Iron, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, and the Monteverdi Vespers have been favorites, and these were important credits towards his faculty appointments at the Madison Early Music Festival and his guest residence with Minnesota’s The Rose Ensemble. He therefore could not pass up the chance to perform with His Majesty’s Men, first as a reading project and then the hot summers of very moving concerts with these new and old friends. With the collegiate groups he helped to launch: Golosa Russian Choir, Harmony 8 (now Ransom Notes), and Voices In Your Head, which was picked by Ben Folds himself for his a cappella compilation album.
Matthew Dean has worked in Spain as an archaeologist in prehistoric painted caves, walked sections of the Camino de Santiago, and studied the exchange of Visigothic and Mozarabic architectural ideas in early medieval churches in around Santander and in Asturias. Hearing chant in Santo Domingo de Silos converted him from medieval art scholar to medieval singer, and he has consequently been managing Chicago’s Schola Antiqua since 2002. His path to professional singing has been a winding pilgrim’s route.
Matthew Dean anchors Midwest vocal chamber projects and performs nationally as an oratorio soloist. "Setting the tone" (Pittsburgh Music Alliance) with "affecting line" (Boston Classical Review), he is a sought-after soloist, collaborator, and storyteller in ensembles and oratorios around the country. As artist in residence at Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel since 2005, the Tribune’s John von Rhein has praised his "firm vocalism and beautiful timbre" for J.S. Bach. As Evangelist in J.S. Bach's Passions (BWV 244, BWV 245) and Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), he has been called "stirring, always attuned to the narrative content" (Chicago Classical Review) in concerts featuring the Haymarket Opera Orchestra. He has also been called both "an ideal Evangelist, with a high, light effortless voice" (Herbert Burtis) and a "stellar" collaborative new music singer (Alan Artner) with Bella Voce.
A medievalist and folklorist possessing “ringing sound, cantorial fluency, and elegance” (Chicago On the Aisle), Matthew Dean appears and records with The Newberry Consort, The Rose Ensemble, Bella Voce, His Majesty's Men, Third Coast Baroque, and Schola Antiqua. A “stellar” new music collaborator (Alan Artner), he has originated the tenor roles in James Kallembach’s Passion and Sven-David Sandström's Magnificat, and collaborated with eighth blackbird and Giordano Dance. His voice can be found on recordings for Naxos, Discantus, and Permelia Records. An arts management leader, building community through sound, he heads the international Sounds of Faith initiative for Harran Productions Foundation, serves as Director of Chapel Operations for the University of Chicago, and co-directs The Rookery men's choir.
Matthew Dean lives in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park with his wife Katie - they we met singing - and their two kids. Across their travels they collect and explore Celtic folk instruments including tinwhistles, Tolkien books in many translations, and Lego. |
