Dr. Matthew Arau is the Chair of the Music Education Department and Associate Director of Bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin where he teaches conducting and instrumental music education courses and is the conductor of the Symphonic Band, associate conductor of the Wind Ensemble, and guest conductor of the Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Dr. Arau is on the conducting faculty of the American Band College of Central Washington University where he teaches conducting to graduate students, and he is on the staff for the Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Arau also serves as a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician and as a member-at-large on the NAfME Band Council, and he is the founder of Upbeat Global, LLC.
In demand as a music teacher and speaker, Dr. Arau has presented on leadership, growth mindset, rehearsal techniques, and creating positive cultures at the following: the International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Western International Band Clinic, numerous State and Regional Music Education Association Conferences, the American Choral Directors Association NextDirection Conference, the Conn-Selmer Institute, the International San Diego Mariachi Summit, and universities, music camps, school districts, and schools in 26 states and 4 continents. Internationally, Dr. Arau has taught leadership in Singapore, Malaysia, Greece, and Cyprus. In February 2019, Dr. Arau delivered the keynote address at the Northwest NAfME (National Association for Music Education) Conference and he delivered the keynote address at the National NAfME Conference in November 2019 in Orlando, Florida to all of the high school national honor ensembles.
In addition, Dr. Arau conducts and clinics all-state bands and honor groups across the
United States and around the world. He has conducted honor bands in Australia,
Greece, Cyprus, and Malaysia, the Michigan and Utah All-State Middle School Honor
Bands, the Texas Region 26 Honor Band, and the South Carolina All-State Band, and
honor bands across the country.
He is published by C. Alan Publications, Bandworld
Magazine, Conn-Selmer, SmartMusic, Everything Band Podcast, The Instrumentalist
Magazine, and Hoonuit Online Learning.
Dr. Arau draws on a deep reservoir of fifteen
years of experience as a successful middle school and high school band director in
Loveland, Colorado, where he led his bands at Walt Clark Middle School and Loveland
High School to numerous honor performances and championships and pioneered the
Leadership Symposium.
Dr. Arau holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting and Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Science in Music Education from the American Band College of Southern Oregon University. He graduated magna cum laude from Lawrence University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education, Music Performance (Classical), Music Performance (Jazz Studies), and a Bachelor of Arts in Government. He resides with his wife, Merilee, in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Contact by e-mail: [email protected]
Lawrence University • Associate Professor of Music
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