Hickman grad Matthew Straw taking musical passions to Utah and beyond
Matthew Straw recounts two of the moments in his life when music arrived with an almost sacred power.
Growing up in Columbia, he and his father, well-known local music educator Michael Straw, would spend Saturdays taking in live Metropolitan Opera transmissions via KBIA, absorbing the sound and setting their imaginations free.
"It was kind of like going to church, but for music," the younger Straw said. "... I realized that music could really speak to us in ways that words can't."
That same power — to describe the indescribable — came home again in 2017 when Melissa Straw, his mother and another dynamic local music educator, died. By happenstance, he was listening to Mahler's third symphony the day the news came, a piece of music which concludes with the movement "What Love Tells Me."
"It became this hymn for me," Straw said, the music filling in spaces around the words of even the most well-spoken, well-intentioned mourners, and offering a different sort of consolation.
Defining moments like these, and a hundred other small wonders experienced in Columbia, set the 2015 Hickman High School graduate down his current path.
He now considers himself an "evangelist for music," a purpose he will realize in his new role as assistant conductor of the Utah Symphony, as well as in opportunities that keep springing up — to travel the globe, learning and leading as a musician.
How Straw's musical passions were shaped in Columbia
"I think everybody is a product of their community," Straw said, and he owes mid-Missouri a debt for stoking his curiosity across subjects.
Straw speaks of high school math and humanities classes as much as his musical education, evidence of an expressed desire to become the most well-rounded person he can. He pursued the study of philosophy alongside his conservatory training at Oberlin College, before migrating to another renowned institution, the Eastman School of Music, for graduate studies.
Taking in, and taking advantage of, what Columbia offered on the musical front helped Straw choose between many passions.
"I was just around so many people that loved what they do and that showed me the power of music ... it inspired me to the point where that’s what I decided I wanted to do with my life," he said.
Straw's Columbia inheritance also distinguished him from a significant segment of his classmates, who grew up in larger cities, often on the coasts. He brought a characteristic Midwestern humility to his programs, as well as a certain hunger, he said.
When the world's best musicians play in your neighborhood on a regular basis, it's easy to take the privilege for granted, Straw added. He sought the most in every opportunity here, to make music or to enjoy a concentration of classical music during the Missouri Symphony's annual summer festival.
"Not having that same access, paradoxically, it made me so much hungrier," he said.
Moving to a historic musical state in Utah
Straw will move from one "really unique musical community" to another, working in and around Salt Lake City. Established in 1940, the Utah Symphony came into its bonafides early.
In its first decade of operation, Maurice Abravanel, formerly of the Met, became the symphony's music director, arriving with the intent to create something lasting, Straw said.
And he did. The Utah Symphony is among the country's few 52-week-a-year orchestras, Straw said, and wears its name seriously. Musicians radiate through the entire state, performing educational programs for young audiences.
The gig will keep Straw nimble. He will direct around 75 concerts a season, he estimated, whereas most assistant conductors helm somewhere between 10 and 20.
Among them, many of the educational concerts — which, certainly, will draw on his evangelistic nature as an artist — as well as classical programs, film scores and more. This weekend, as part of a full summer slate in Park City, Utah, Straw will conduct the symphony when it performs with the Beach Boys.
"That was my road trip band growing up," he said with a mix of awe and enthusiasm.
'An instant feedback loop'
The best gift Straw can give the Utah Symphony, or any ensemble he directs, is his authentic self, he said.
World-class musicians could start and stop without his hand, but Straw brings to the podium what any dedicated artist does — a unique perspective, a sense of interpretation no one else can touch or imitate.
To conduct well, Straw must internalize more than just the score. He wants to "tap into" the original intent and energy of a composer, then radiate that energy to the ensemble. Once he transfers that spirit, they can too — to every corner of the concert hall. Facial expressions, eye contact, it all matters as does the ability to truly express the music in an embodied way.
"How do I make this moment special for everybody in the room?" he asks himself.
To truly harness the power of music, Straw must keep learning and developing. He is excited to learn from the Utah Symphony's players; the connection between conductor and orchestra offers "an instant feedback loop" and gauge of communication, he said.
Growth comes both naturally and through opportunity. One of Straw's mentors, the Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru, told him it takes 10 years to hear well at the podium and he is moving along that timeline.
And Straw continues tuning to musical chances both past and present. In conversation, he looked back to lessons learned through an assistantship in Belgium — and forward, at lessons yet to learn when he attends a leading festival in California later this summer. A relationship with the agency Maestro Arts, and Rachel van Walsum, promises to only grow what and where is possible for Straw.
"I'm really trying to think of myself as a person that goes to different communities, and tries to be this catalyst," Straw said. "... That changes people's lives, or makes their lives a little better, just gives them a cathartic experience, gives them an exciting experience, a thought-provoking experience."
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Hickman grad Matthew Straw taking musical passions to Utah and beyond
