Stuart Malina: Tony Award-Winning Music Director/Conductor/Pianist on Creating Movin' Out with Twyla Tharp and Strategies for Masterful Performance

Drawing on the concepts presented in Matt's book, Hooks: Lessons on Performance, Business, and Life from a Working Musician, Stuart Malina  joins Matt to discuss

• his role in creating Movin' Out and a reflection on the show 20 years later,
• multiple strategies for masterful performance,
• utilizing and discerning opinions,
• and maintaining a balanced perspective professionally and personally.

In a wide variety of concerts, from masterworks and grand opera to pops, Stuart Malina's ease on the podium, engaging personality, and insightful interpretations have thrilled audiences and helped break down the barriers between performer and listener.

This year marks Stuart's 22nd season as Music Director and conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. In June 2022, he was named Music Director of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra in Greenwich, CT, where he will begin conducting concerts in September of 2023. Throughout his career, he has conducted and directed multiple orchestras around the world. His Carnegie Hall debut was in 2007, where he conducted the New York Pops in an all-Gershwin tribute, including Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the keyboard.

He's also an accomplished pianist; Stuart has impressive credits as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed concertos in Harrisburg, Greensboro, Charleston, New York, and Chautauqua, most often conducting from the keyboard. As a composer and arranger, he has created dozens of orchestral works, ranging from entire pops shows to works for symphony orchestra. His most recent composition, Common Fanfare for an Uncommon Orchestra, received its world premiere by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra in September 2017.

Stuart's activities also extend to Broadway. In 2003, he won the Tony award for orchestration with Billy Joel for the musical Movin' Out. He acted in Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play Master Class, opposite Zoe Caldwell and Audra MacDonald, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has also served as associate conductor of the national touring company of West Side Story and as conductor of the Charleston production of Porgy and Bess. 

In May 2020, Stuart received an honorary doctorate from Lebanon Valley College. He has received the Joanne Rogers Award for contribution to the artistic life of Pennsylvania, the Jump Street Spectrum Award, the Lebanon Valley College's 2012 Founders Day, the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from Theater Harrisburg, and Leadership Harrisburg's Platinum Award for Servant Leadership.

Stuart holds degrees from Harvard University, the Yale School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller. He studied piano with Drora and Baruch Arnon and with Keiko Sato.
 
 He resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Marty. They are the proud parents of two children, Sara and Zev.  Stuartmalina.com

Matt Wilson gained national exposure as the "Piano Man" in the First National Tour of the Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Tony-award-winning musical Movin' Out. In 2005, the Texas State Senate honored Matt with a resolution for his achievements in Fine Arts, and he was accepted to the 2016 - 2018 Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster. Matt continues to tour with his band, headlining numerous public, private, and social events of all sizes. 

In 2021, Matt released his first book, Hooks: Lessons on Performance, Business, and Life from a Working Musician, available on Amazon and iBooks.