Matthew Buckman became the first Executive Director of Townsend Opera on February 1, 2008 at the age of twenty-six, and has since led a major revitalization of the company.
Under his leadership, Townsend Opera developed and implemented its first long-term strategic plan, executed a major staff reorganization, recruited and engaged its first Principal Conductor and a new Artistic Director, and recruited the company’s first production team, including set designers, a technical director, stage managers, and costumers.
In 2009, Matthew initiated and developed groundbreaking partnerships with the CSU Stanislaus Department of Music, Modesto Junior College, and San Francisco Opera that have led to new heights of artistic excellence, and has developed partnerships with health and human services organizations to expand the impact of the company in the community. The education and outreach programs have been repositioned and expanded to better fill gaps in the public education system.
In 2010, Matthew completely overhauled the company’s production model, and transitioned the company from performing in the 440-seat theater to the 1,200-seat theater in the Gallo Center for the Arts. This gave the company additional resources to invest in artistic quality and the ability to greatly increase accessibility by reducing ticket prices to as low as $10 per seat. These changes led to a 32% increase in attendance in the first season, and made the 2011/12 season the most artistically successful in the company’s 29 year history.
In 2011, Matthew utilized a doctoral thesis written by Dr. Stuart Sims, his good friend and colleague, to develop and implement a new artistic initiative titled Opera Remix. This new initiative is designed to reconnect opera to the modern world by embracing cultural norms of the 21st century throughout the company. The first event of the initiative, Opera Remix: Musical Worlds Collide at The State, featured the best of opera and classic rock, all performed by opera singers and written for a 15-piece rock orchestra. The event was attended by over 550 people, which nearly tripled the audience of the event it replaced.
In 2012, Matthew launched a new video series titled Opera911!, which brings viewers behind the scenes of an opera company. The series launched during the company’s January 2012 production of The Mikado, and brought viewers inside the three-week production cycle with daily video releases in the weeks prior to the performance.
Matthew came to Townsend Opera from the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Director of Development. During his tenure as Director of Development, Matthew restructured the development department, bringing new philosophies and programs that established a more accessible, donor-centered corporate sponsorship program, increased opportunities for donor engagement, developing and implementing new programs for solicitations, more systematic solicitation of potential donors, and increased planning capabilities. Prior to his appointment as Director of Development, Matthew served as Operations Manager and Development Assistant for the MSO, and Orchestra Manager for the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Matthew was born and raised in Fresno, California, where he studied architecture and music in high school. He pursued music in college, finishing his studies in Instrumental Performance at CSU Stanislaus in 2005. While in college, he served in elected and administrative roles in student government, and also worked in recruitment for the Department of Music. Mr. Buckman played soccer at the collegiate level for four years, and it continues to be his primary hobby.
