Matthew Dion is widely regarded as a young leader in the organ community as a performer, church musician and teacher, whose performances are enlightening and engaging. Along with regular solo and collaborative performances, Matthew serves as Assistant Director of Music and Organist at Saint Anne Catholic Church in Houston, Texas; Sub-Dean of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter of the American Guild of Organists; and is represented by Concert Artists Cooperative.

    

Matthew performs as a solo organist throughout the United States highlighting repertoire that spans over seven centuries, with a special interest and focus on the music of French composer and organist Jean Langlais. Some notable performance venues include: National City Christian Church, Washington, DC; Old West Church, Boston, MA; Kings Chapel, Boston, MA; Village Church UCC, Wellesley, MA; Grace Episcopal Church, Providence, RI; Saint Anne's Church and Shrine, Fall River, MA; Saint Mary's Church, Newport, RI; Saint Stanislaus Church, Cleveland, OH; Trinity Lutheran Church, Cleveland, OH; and Church of the Covenant, Cleveland, OH. As a collaborative musician, he has recently been a featured accompanist, soloist, and collaborator with the Grammy®-winning Houston Chamber Choir in Houston, Texas, under the direction of Robert Simpson; the West Shore Chorale in Lakewood, Ohio, under the direction of John Drotleff; the Oberlin College Choir/Musical Union under the direction of Dr. Gregory Ristow; and the Oberlin Arts and Sciences orchestra under the direction of Dr. Tiffany Chang. At Oberlin, he performed and recorded the Saint-Saëns "Organ Symphony" (2019) and movements of Cécile Chaminade's Messe pour deux voix égales (2021). From 2021-2022, Matthew was the accompanist of the Treble Choir of Houston, directed by Marianna Parnas-Simpson. In addition, he is a founding member and organist of Reeds and Keys, an oboe and organ concert duo where he performs with his partner and oboist, Anne Pinkerton. 

 

Matthew is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) candidate in organ performance at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music where he also received his Master of Music Degree, studying with Daryl Robinson. While at UH, Matthew also served as a musicology teaching assistant working with students in ethnomusicology and twentieth century music history courses. Matthew received his Bachelor of Music degree in Organ and a Minor in Music History at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied organ with Dr. Jonathan Moyer, James David Christie, and Arvid Gast. His other teachers include Jean-Baptiste Robin, Marie Louise Langlais, Vincent Warnier, Dr. Steven Young, Madeleine Grace and Normand Gingras for organ; Erik Thompson for piano; Mark Edwards for harpsichord and continuo; and Dr. Betsy Cook Weber for choral conducting. Matthew additionally has been involved in masterclasses for many keyboard organizations including The Montreal Organ Festival, American Guild of Organists and the Westfield Keyboard Society. He has performed in classes taught by Kola Owolabi, Cherry Rhodes, Peter Sykes, Christa Rakich, Nicole Keller, Alan Morrison, Ken Cowan and Matthew Dirst. Matthew is a 2019 winner of the Audrey Mollard Scholarship Competition for Organ from the Tuesday Musical Association in Akron, Ohio.  

 

A passionate teacher, Matthew maintains a private organ studio of students of all age levels and experiences. He is also on faculty at the University of Houston's Community Arts Academy and Saint Andrew's Presbyterian School of Fine Arts. Matthew has also been invited as a guest organ teacher at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston during the fall 2023 semester.  

 

Matthew maintains an active life as a sacred musician with extensive experience in the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian faith traditions. Most recently, Matthew served as Organ Scholar at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Houston, Texas, and before that served as organist and director of the "Music Under the Steeple" concert series at First Presbyterian Church in Huron, Ohio. He is also an active member of the Association of Anglican Church Musicians (AAM).  

 

Matthew, originally from Somerset, Massachusetts, now makes his home in Houston, Texas. An enthusiastic foodie, he enjoys frequenting various restaurants, and enjoys traveling throughout the United States and Europe.