Matthew Thomas Brown (b. 2004) is a composer, conductor, pianist, and organist from Vienna, VA. He received much of his early training in the liturgical music setting, starting his role as regular pianist/organist at St. Mark Catholic Church (Vienna, VA) at the age of eight. His first forays into composition were arrangements of favorite hymns, soon followed by original settings of psalms and Mass acclamations.

This background sparked Brown’s passion for vocal music. He has written extensively for choral ensembles, including both sacred and secular works. He recently completed his tenure as director of the Now Chorale, a new-music choir he founded in Oberlin, OH, which has commissioned and/or premiered more than thirty new works in just three seasons. In January 2025, he made his opera conducting debut with Oberlin Opera Theater’s production of “The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace” by Kamala Sankaram.

Brown finds inspiration for his music in nature, stories, moments in his own life, and religious themes. Recent premieres include “the way the garden faded into twilight” for sinfonietta and "This Cold But Golden Morning,” a chamber opera in one act.

Opportunities to bring together his composition and conducting worlds are of special interest to Brown. He frequently assists fellow student composers in bringing their works to the stage, taking up the baton in October 2024 to lead Benjamin Muir’s “Turbulence” for orchestra and, in March 2025, Max Allard’s “Banjo Concerto”.

Brown recently graduated with his Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he majored in composition and minored in choral conducting and organ performance. He is beginning his Masters studies in choral conducting at the Yale School of Music.