About Matthew Aucoin
Matthew Aucoin is an American composer, conductor, writer, pianist, and a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. In recent seasons, his music has been performed by artists ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and commissioned by institutions including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the Ojai Music Festival. Aucoin is a co-founder of the American Modern Opera Company. His book about opera, The Impossible Art: Adventures in Opera, was published in 2021 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
The Latest
Chicago Symphony premiere and ongoing performances of "Music for New Bodies"
On December 4, 5, 6, and 7, the Chicago Symphony, featuring soprano Julia Bullock and conductor Petr Popelka, gives the world premiere performances of Aucoin’s Song of the Reappeared, a “concerto for voice and orchestra” based on the poetry of Chilean writer Raúl Zurita.
In recent months, Aucoin also conducted three productions of Music for New Bodies, at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and Seattle’s Meany Center. That work will travel next to Sarasota, FL in May 2026, conducted by George Nickson.
