Biography
Matthew Loden serves as the Lynette S. Autrey Dean of Music and Professor of Executive Music Management at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, a role he began in September 2021. As the school's chief executive and academic officer, he oversees academic affairs, faculty and student recruitment, personnel, fiscal strategy, external relations, and fundraising, all while working to foster the intellectual and creative development of Rice’s musical community.
A native Houstonian and an alumnus of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Loden arrived at Rice at a critical juncture. The university sought an accomplished leader to guide the Shepherd School through a period of significant faculty transition and elevate the school’s profile across the campus, the Houston community, and the broader arts world.
Under his direction, the school recently welcomed the largest cohort of new faculty in its history, solidifying its artistic and pedagogical direction. He has attracted numerous award-winning "star" teaching faculty and greatly expanded faculty support by activating new funding sources to launch new initiatives such as creative laboratories, faculty commissions, and individual faculty grants.
A landmark achievement of his early tenure was leading the activation and grand opening of the $100 million Brockman Hall for Opera, complete with a Community Open House and Gala. Dean Loden has successfully enhanced the Shepherd School’s external presence, integrating it more intentionally into the Greater Houston arts community and strengthening strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and DaCamera, further embedding Shepherd students in ensembles and community service. He also introduced The Concert Truck initiative, a mobile stage that trains students in engagement practices and brings free performances to local neighborhoods. These efforts, alongside producing world-premiere collaborations with composers like Matthew Aucoin and Gabriela Ortiz, the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), the Los Angeles Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival and School, have generated remarkable external interest and positive press coverage, including feature coverage in The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle.
Dean Loden has prioritized the student experience by expanding orientation programs, launching all-school student gatherings, implementing new mental health resources, instigating curricular reviews, and securing a special travel fund for professional auditions and summer festivals. Consequently, the school has attracted the largest number of applicants in its history while continuing to place graduates in professional opportunities with repeated success.
Prior to Rice, Dean Loden was CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he redefined the role of an orchestra in a diverse international city, commissioning world-premiere works from next-generation composers and establishing new creative partnerships and performances with artists ranging from composer Samy Moussa to the sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Erin Wall, from violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja to pop icon Jessie Reyez. His commitment to compelling experiences expanded audiences and increased revenue, while his relationships throughout the music world attracted top talent to the organization. Loden hired renowned conductor Gustavo Gimeno to be music director in 2020.
Before assuming his role in Toronto, Dean Loden served as interim co-president of the Philadelphia Orchestra and as executive vice president, with responsibility for sustaining strategic direction and overseeing all board, philanthropic, communications, and external relations efforts. He was part of the team that launched celebrated maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin as music director while navigating the orchestra’s successful comeback from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. He also served as executive director and board secretary for the Academy of Music, with oversight over the nation’s oldest opera house, and was the executive liaison with the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
As vice president and general manager at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Dean Loden supervised operations for approximately 400 musical events each summer, including hiring faculty and overseeing operations for five orchestras, opera productions, chamber music programs, master classes, and lectures for 650 students. He was also responsible for implementing Aspen’s first-ever live opera simulcasts and streaming performances on MediciTV. Additionally, he was part of the design and building teams for a new $75 million redevelopment of the school’s 38-acre Bucksbaum Campus.
A professional violinist who studied with Fredell Lack in his early years, his advanced college studies include training with renowned teachers Stephen Clapp, Andrew Jennings, and Zvi Zeitlin. He has also studied with Shepherd School of Music faculty Kenneth Goldsmith and Kathleen Winkler. Loden holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College. He remains deeply connected to the Houston arts scene, serving as a current Board member of the Houston Symphony and Chamber Music Houston, and is a Founding Board member of ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra). He has been a Trustee for the Frank Liu Jr. Academy for Music and Arts and also serves on the Advisory Board of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and the Board of Advisers at the Texas Music Festival.
Dean Loden has performed regularly with the Kennedy Center Opera and Ballet orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet orchestras, and the American Composers Orchestra. He was the concertmaster for the Washington Bach Consort and a principal player in the American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Mr. Loden has also performed with the Broadway productions of Cabaret, Once Upon a Mattress, High Society, and The Lion King.
