Matthew Felbein (he/him) is a composer and educator from the Chicagoland area. He has written and arranged music for a variety of choral, instrumental, solo, and chamber ensemble settings. His compositions have won awards in the Illinois Music Educators Association Composition Contest, the ACDA @ UIUC Choral Composition Contest, and his works have been performed around the country by concert bands, choirs, chamber ensembles, acapella groups, athletic bands, soloists, and more.

Matthew is in his senior year pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, he served as the Drum Major of the Marching Illini for three years, the music director for the Alpha Xi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and he performed onstage in multiple Lyric Theatre @ Illinois productions. Matthew also served in various board positions and, eventually, as president of the UIUC chapter of the American Choral Directors Association where he led the annual Choral Composition Contest and helped collegiate composers to write new works for choirs of all levels and voicings. He studied horn with Professor Bernhard Scully, voice with Professor Dawn Harris, and conducting with Dr. Andrea Solya, Dr. Kim Fleming, and Dr. Hannah Rudy.

During the summer, Matthew serves on the instructional staff at Smith Walbridge Clinics where he teaches over 400 high school drum majors conducting, marching, and various aspects of marching band showmanship through the lens of servant leadership.