Lucia Matos

Associate Professor

Lucia Matos, D.M.A., has appeared with orchestras in the U.S., Brazil and Europe, including the Chicago Philharmonic, Illinois Philharmonic, National Arts Center Orchestra (Canada), Des Moines Symphony, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Gabrovo Orchestra (Bulgaria), Campinas Symphony Orchestra (Brazil) and Orchestra da UNICAMP (Brazil).

From 2008 to 2017, she was the director of orchestra and opera at Northern Illinois University and from 2009 to 2018, the music director of the Illinois Valley Symphony.

Matos has given premiere performances of numerous orchestral and chamber works and performed an extensive opera repertoire, including La Traviata, Tosca, I Pagliacci, Samson et Dalilah, Hansel and Gretel, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, L’Elisir d’Amore and Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.

Born in Brazil, Matos has lived in the United States since 1998. She studied conducting with Henrique Gregori at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas and became assistant conductor of the Sinfonica Municipal de Campinas and Orquestra da UNICAMP. She received the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Iowa, where she was a student of William La Rue Jones. She has also studied conducting with Kenneth Kiesler, Zdenek Macal and Dante Anzolini.