ABOUT THE JACKSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Jackson Symphony Orchestra has a rich and vibrant history bringing world-class music to its community since 1949. The JSO has performed with many legendary figures including Pascal Rogé, Inon Barnatan, Vanessa Perez, Dizzy Gillespie, Grant Johannesen, Ed Asner, William Warfield, and Ralph Votapek. The orchestra has also toured with Mannheim Steamroller, Ann Murray, and the Manhattan Transfer. Since assuming the Music Director position in 2017, Matthew Aubin has catapulted the JSO to higher levels of artistic excellence. He has launched several innovative initiatives including partnerships with the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Ballet Chelsea. In recent years, the JSO has also significantly expanded its community programming including educational programs for children, family programming, and a non-classical series titled ‘Music-on-Tap’ featuring touring musicians from many varied genres. The orchestra has premiered works by such distinguished composers as Jeff Beal, Jeremy Crosmer, Marcus Norris, Lowell Liebermann, and its own composer-in-residence, J. Bruce Brown. Operas including Tosca, La Boheme, Merry Wives of Windsor, and Die Fledermaus have been presented in fully staged productions and eight different collaborations with the Indianapolis Ballet and Grand Rapids Ballet have resulted in magical productions of Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. The JSO’s administrative offices, Community Music School, and 300-person recital hall are located in downtown Jackson and were renovated in 2019.

EN FRANÇAIS

L’orchestre symphonique américain de Jackson a une histoire riche et dynamique. Contribuant à la scène musicale de sa région depuis 1949, la JSO (de son nom original Jackson Symphony Orchestra) a joué avec de nombreuses figures légendaires du monde de la musique, dont Pascal Rogé, Inon Barnatan, Vanessa Perez, Dizzy Gillespie, Grant Johannesen, Ed Asner, William Warfield et Ralph Votapek. L’orchestre s’est également produit avec Mannheim Steamroller, Ann Murray et le Manhattan Transfer. Depuis son arrivée en tant que directeur musical en 2017, Matthew Aubin a catapulté la symphonie à un niveau encore plus haut de rentabilité et d’excellence artistique. Il a lancé plusieurs initiatives innovantes qui ont attiré l’attention de donateurs de tous horizons. Ainsi sont nés des partenariats avec le Gilmore Keyboard Festival, des universités du Michigan et le Ballet de Chelsea. Au cours des dernières années, la JSO a également considérablement élargi sa programmation, incluant des productions éducatives pour les enfants et les familles, familiaux et une série moderne intitulée Music-on-Tap mettant en vedette des auteurs compositeurs interprètes. L’orchestre a joué en avant-première les œuvres de compositeurs aussi distingués que Jeff Beal, Jeremy Crosmer, Marcus Norris, Lowell Liebermann et J. Bruce Brown, compositeur en résidence. Des opéras tels que La Tosca, La Bohème, Merry Wives of Windsor et Die Fledermaus ont été présentés dans des mises en scène inédites. En outre, huit collaborations avec l’Indianapolis Ballet et le Grand Rapids Ballet ont abouti à des productions enchanteresses de La Belle au Bois Dormant et Casse-Noisette. Les bureaux administratifs du JSO, l’école de musique locale et la salle de récital de 300 personnes sont situés au centre-ville de Jackson et ont été rénovés en 2019.

MISSION

To provide world-class music and music education to the greater Jackson community.

VISION

The JSO is the musical leader in the greater Jackson area. We innovate and collaborate in ways that enrich and elevate our community and beyond.

Conductors

Musicians

Staff & Board

MATTHEW AUBIN

MUSIC DIRECTOR

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.

About The Jackson Symphony Orchestra

ABOUT THE JACKSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MISSION

VISION

MATTHEW AUBIN

MUSIC DIRECTOR