ABOUT THE JACKSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Jackson Symphony Orchestra has a rich and vibrant history serving the Jackson area since 1949. The orchestra has performed with many legendary figures in the world of music including Dizzy Gillespie, Grant Johannesen, Ralph Votapek and Ian Hobson. Mannheim Steamroller, Ann Murray, and the Manhattan Transfer have invited the orchestra to do multi-state regional tours with them. The repertoire of the orchestra has been adventurous (including two entire seasons where every piece performed was from the 20th Century) and has drawn national attention as evidenced by frequent grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The orchestra has premiered works by such distinguished composers as Jeff Beal, Crawford Gates, David Gibson, Robert De Gaetano, Falla Guitar Trio and it’s own composer in residence, J. Bruce Brown. Operas including Tosca, La Boheme, Merry Wives of Windsor, 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 Nutcracker.

MISSION

Be one of the most innovative, inspiring and successful music arts organizations in Michigan.

VISION

Enrich our communities by providing superior performance, listening and learning experiences in a variety of settings.

Conductors

Musicians

Staff & Board

MATTHEW AUBIN

MUSIC DIRECTOR

A passionate advocate for American and contemporary music, Matthew Aubin has conducted and performed internationally from Carnegie Hall to the Musikverein and many stops in between. Currently in his third season as Music Director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Aubin also serves as Artistic Director for The Chelsea Symphony in New York City. He regularly serves as a conductor and consultant for film and television including collaborations with the Golden Globe award-winning television series Mozart in the Jungle, Younger, and feature films Joker and Bel Canto. Upcoming engagements include the Symphonic Orchestra of the Teatro de Paz in Brazil, Washington State University, The Hartt School, and an orchestral recording project of the concerti of French composer Fernande Breilh-Decruck featuring soloists from the New York Philharmonic and President’s Own Marine Band, amongst others.

In his role at The Chelsea Symphony, Matthew Aubin has significantly expanded the symphony’s prestige and recognition through highly visible projects such as collaborations with the television series Mozart in the Jungle, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and The Chelsea Symphony’s annual competition for emerging New York area composers with high profile adjudicators such as Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony and music director of the All-Star Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz. 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, and many others. He also designed and conducted a series of outreach concerts for inmates on Rikers Island through a continued relationship with the NYC Department of Correction.

In addition to his conducting work, Matthew Aubin is the foremost scholar of the French composer Fernande Breilh-Decruck. He has earned multiple research grants to study her significant life and work. 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 now in the process of publication, and has organized performances of Decruck’s music in the United States and abroad.

Matthew Aubin continues to be active as a freelance horn player and regularly performs across the country. A devoted music educator, 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.