Announcing the NEW Conductor of the MDSO!

Matthew Sheppard

With passionate artistry and innovation, conductor and educator Matthew Sheppard leads orchestras, students, and audiences to transformative experiences across the Midwest. He is Music Director of the Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor at Millikin University, Artistic Director of the award-winning Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the Danville Symphony Orchestra.

Sheppard has guest conducted the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Paraguay, Chicago Philharmonic, Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Lake Geneva Symphony Orchestra, and Blue Lake International Youth Symphony. He served as visiting faculty at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music where he was Guest Resident Conductor of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and taught conducting. For over a decade, he was the music director of the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company of Chicago. He currently serves on faculty at the University of Illinois working with the flagship University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

As the Artistic Drector of Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, Sheppard leads a team of dedicated educators in providing a comprehensive music education to nearly 400 students and families each year. This approach led to EYSO being named 2021 Youth Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras (ICO) and to Sheppard being awarded ICO Conductor of the Year in 2022.

As a teacher, Sheppard inspires students to nurture a deep love and understanding of music and performing. While on faculty at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois, he has designed and taught highly regarded courses on conducting, musicianship, and active listening, and he is sought after as a clinician, conductor, and coach to young musicians across the Midwest. Sheppard serves as past-president of the IL Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (IL CMP) Committee as it encourages teaching with intention, and performing with understanding.

Sheppard studied conducting with Donald Schleicher and Gerardo Edelstein, and violin with Max Zorin and Jeremy Black.

CLICK HERE to read a letter to YOU from our new conductor!

Maria Arrua

Concertmaster

Violinist Maria Arrua leads an active career performing and teaching in the Greater Chicago area. She currently serves as Concertmaster of the Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra as well as section violin of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Elgin and Northwest Symphony Orchestras. She is an Adjunct Instructor at Illinois Wesleyan University, where she teaches violin.

Dr. Arrua has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay, Orchestra of the Congress of Paraguay, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of the City of Asuncion, Chamber Orchestra of the Municipality of Asuncion, University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, State College Summer Orchestra, and Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also performed with the symphony orchestras of Paraguay, Illinois, Grant Park, Mississippi, Baton Rouge, Champaign, and Acadiana, as well as Sinfonia da Camera, Louisiana Sinfonietta, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Born in Paraguay, Dr. Arrua began her musical training at the age 10 at the National Conservatory of Music of Paraguay. During her studies at the Conservatory, Dr. Arrua served as Assistant Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, she graduated summa cum laude from Louisiana State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance degree, studying under Dr. Lin He. Following that, she continued her graduate studies in performance at Pennsylvania State University, working with Prof. James Lyon. She completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts in 2021 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying under Nelson Lee and the Jupiter String Quartet.

She has performed in several music festivals, including the David Kim Orchestral Institute, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Castleman Quartet Program, and Festival Nas Montanhas.