Matthew Nowlan (he/him) enjoys a multifaceted career as a performing arts administrator, professional violist, and political scientist. He is currently a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Sinfonia da Camera. Matthew has also served as a section violist of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra from 2022-2026 and has previously won Principal Viola positions in the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra. Matthew has performed at internationally acclaimed venues including Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, and Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, to name a few. As a violist in the Civic Orchestra, Matthew has performed under the baton of renown conductors including Klaus Mäkelä, Jun Märkl, Ken-David Masur, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Alpesh Chauhan, Naomi Woo, Erina Yashima, and Thomas Wilkins. Matthew started learning the violin at age 5 with the late Anne Donahue and Takaharu Matsunaga before becoming a full-time violist in high school. He continued his viola studies with Professor Liz Freivogel and chamber music with Professor Daniel McDonough, both from the renowned Jupiter String Quartet in residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Other notable mentors include Teng Li, Kirsten Docter, Members of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Salley Koo, Denise Djokic, Nelson Lee, Rudolf Haken, Carolyn Watson, Ian Hobson, Stephen Alltop, and the late Matthew Mantell. As a member of the Bravura String Quartet from 2016 to 2020, he performed at the Chicago Symphony Center, the Hemmens Cultural Center, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, in addition to numerous recitals, weddings, and community events. In addition to his music studies, Matthew holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with research concentrating in World Politics and Global Business.

As a passionate music educator, Matthew has privately taught violin, viola, and chamber music, and has worked in administration at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Midwest Conservatory of Music. He has also had the honor of being selected as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association's 2025-26 Arts Administration Fellow, supporting its education and community engagement programs in the Negaunee Music Institute. In May 2026, he was appointed as the Managing Director of the Midwest Fine Arts Society, initiating its new strategic partnership with Elmhurst University. With his interdisciplinary backgrounds as a political scientist, professional musician, and strong advocate for music education, Matthew approaches every project with creative ambition and a deep commitment to expanding access to the arts. Besides his love for music, Matthew avidly travels, enjoys cooking, and loves spending time with his cat Louie.