EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
M. Mus.: Sam Houston State University, 2010
B.M.E., Music Teaching Area: Indiana University-Bloomington, 2001
2012-Present: Assistant Professor of Bands, Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN)
2002-2012: Director of Bands, West Lafayette Schools (West Lafayette, IN)
2001-2002: Graduate Assistant, Purdue University Bands (West Lafayette, IN)
Spring, 2001: Student Teacher, Center Grove High School (Greenwood, IN)
1997-2000: Assistant Choral Director, St. Charles School (Bloomington, IN)
BIOGRAPHY
Matthew R. Conaway was appointed to the Purdue faculty in August 2012 as an Assistant Professor of Bands. He serves as an associate director of the famed “All-American” Marching Band, directs the “Boiler Brass” Men’s Basketball Pep Band, and conducts the Pudue Symphonic Band and Varsity Band. He also is the faculty supervisor for the band’s various auxiliary units, serves as the department’s technology coordinator, and coordinates the annual Band Day event. He is responsible for coordinating marching band travel, and has organized trips around the Big Ten, as well as a significant performance experience in Medellín, Colombia in 2015. He mentors many student organizations, serving as faculty sponsor for the Beta Sigma chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, the Gamma Pi chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, the departmental Volunteer Leadership Team, the Band & Orchestra Technology Office, and the Purdue Musical LGBTQ+ Society. Conaway also serves the university as a member of the Purdue University Senate and the Advisory Committee on Equity.
Prior to his appointment to Purdue’s faculty, Conaway served for ten years as the Director of Bands for the West Lafayette Community School Corporation, during which time the program received many state and national accolades for musical excellence. He brought back the Marching “Red Devil” Band, basketball pep band, jazz band, and symphony orchestra to the music department, and raised band program enrollment by over 200 students in grades 5-12. During his tenure, West Lafayette became regarded as one of the great small-school music programs in Indiana, with two state concert finals appearances and dozens of superior festival ratings. Under Conaway’s leadership, the NAMM Foundation recognized the West Lafayette Community School Corporation as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education in America” in 2006, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Conaway is an award-winning, internationally-known composer for concert bands, with over fifty original works currently in publication. His compositions range from very beginning through very advanced, based on his experience working with all levels of performers in grade 5-12, collegiate, and professional ensembles. He has received commissions from many schools and honor bands in the last five years. Conaway was honored to experience his Carnegie Hall debut in March 2016 with a world premiere performance by the Purdue Wind Ensemble.
He is also an accomplished arranger, and has written for athletic bands at Indiana University, Purdue University, and many high schools and colleges throughout the country. Millions of people have heard Conaway’s arrangements at multiple festivals, bowl games, basketball tournaments, and other major sporting events since 1999. His compositions and arrangements are available globally through the C.L. Barnhouse Company and the Hal Leonard Corporation.
After graduating from Woodhaven (MI) High School in 1997, Conaway attended Indiana University – Bloomington, where he studied arranging with David Woodley. He received his Bachelor of Music Education with Distinction in 2001, and earned a Masters of Music degree from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University in 2010. He is a member of NAfME, CBDNA, NBA, Indiana Music Educators Association, Indiana Bandmasters Association, and ASCAP. He is an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi, and was recently inducted into the Gamma chapter of Phi Beta Mu. He is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator at concert band festivals and competitions throughout the United States.
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
Besides music, I enjoy any opportunity to travel, especially overseas. Since 2011, I’ve visited Ireland (three times), the United Kingdom, Spain, Colombia (three times), and Australia. I’ve also traveled around the United States for vacation and professional reasons, with a personal favorite destination of Anchorage, Alaska.
I also have a passion for the weather and trying to stay one step ahead of possible hazards. I am a trained weather spotter, and I have a particular fascination with tornadoes and their development. Finally, I unashamedly maintain a childhood love of 8-bit and 16-bit video games, still occasionally enjoying a quiet night with Mario or Link.