School of Music

Matt Bean

Matt Bean, D.M. (Doctor of Music)
Professor, Voice 
Browne 123
Email: M-Bean@wiu.edu

It has been said that Dr. Matt Bean knows every Broadway musical ever written. He blames his parents: they raised him on a steady diet of original cast recordings. He is a Professor of Musical Theatre and Voice for Western Illinois University's unique BFA program in Musical Theatre, which he helped create and launch in 2003. Previously he had launched the BFA program in Musical Theatre at Wichita State University, and taught for the BFA programs in Musical Theatre at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.

His performances include the title role in Sweeney Todd and Dr. Craven in The Secret Garden. In 2012 he mounted the concert Song by Song by Sondheim, singing with his wife Rebecca and guest artist Professor Lysa Fox.

He has wielded the baton at WIU for the musicals Songs for a New World, Oklahoma!, Anything Goes, Next to Normal, Ruthless!, Seussical the Musical, All Shook Up, A Man of No Importance, Once on This Island, Meet Me in St. Louis, Kiss Me, Kate, Lucky Stiff, Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic, Grease, The Taffetas, Forever Plaid; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Jekyll & Hyde, The Sound of Music, and Working. He is currently slated as musical director for Pippin in Spring 2019. He also music-directed Thoroughly Modern Millie for Okoboji Summer Theatre and Cats and Annie Get Your Gun for the Clinton Showboat.

As an opera director, in 2007 Dr. Bean staged Carmen in French for Opera Quad Cities, where he also successfully mounted La Bohème in Italian in 2005.

Dr. Bean's students are currently performing on Broadway, in national touring companies, at Disney World, and in stock and regional companies across the nation.

He has taught highly acclaimed workshops on singing/acting and pop/belt vocal technique for NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) and CMS (College Music Society) in Washington, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Matt taught classical vocal technique to Marie Osmond to prepare her for her two-year national tour as Maria in The Sound of Music.

He has authored numerous articles published in the Journal of Singing and The Sondheim Review.

He composed the children's musicals The Emperor's New Clothes and The 101 Dalmatians which both enjoyed national tours lasting 3 and 4 years respectively, playing to literally millions of schoolchildren nationwide. The Emperor's New Clothes is now professionally licensed by Steele Spring Stage Rights and the published script is available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Emperors-New-Clothes-Rob-Lauer/dp/069224543X/. Dr. Bean is now writing and composing new stand-alone musical theatre songs appropriate for university student performers nationwide.