Artistic Director
Collegium Cincinnati Artistic Director, Matthew Phelps is one of the most versatile classical musicians in the nation. Entering his first year with Collegium Cincinnati, he is committed to providing the community with innovative programing, moving experiences, and opportunities to lift up artists and performers who call Cincinnati home.
In addition to leading Collegium Cincinnati, Phelps is the Director of Music at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN, and is the founder and artistic director of the professional chamber choir Vocal Arts Nashville. At West End, he conducts the nationally renowned Chancel Choir and performs major concerts with orchestra. Among Phelps’ most notable performances at West End: Nashville’s first performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Telemann’s Ein Deutsches Magnificat, Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and a performance of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem that earned him the 2015 American Prize in Choral Conducting. Phelps’ performances have been described as “beautifully prepared,” (Mary Ellen Hutton, Cincinnati Post) and “moving and deeply meaningful.” (Walter Bitner, On the Podium)
With Vocal Arts Nashville, he has conducted all six Bach Motets, along with repertoire ranging from Dufay to Esenvalds. During the pandemic, Phelps has led Vocal Arts Nashville in a full season of digital concerts, safely performed, and to much acclaim. A frequent guest conductor, Phelps has led orchestras and choruses throughout the nation. He made his professional ballet debut conducting the American premiere of Peter Salem’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He frequently collaborates with the Nashville Concerto Orchestra and the Mozart Birthday Festival Orchestra. He conducted at the 2020 Southeastern Convention of the American Choral Director’s Association and his choirs have performed at regional conventions of ACDA and MENC.
He is sought-after as a pianist and chamber musician. He has performed recitals for the Xavier University Piano Series, Nashville Cathedral Arts Series, Steinway Society of Nashville, Nashville Symphony’s On Stage series, Wright State University, the University of Dayton, and the Music at 990 series. Phelps has appeared numerous times on Nashville Public Radio, Cincinnati Public Radio, and National Public Radio as a soloist, conductor, and chamber musician. A proponent of new music and classical improvisation, Phelps is known for his performances of Frederic Rzweksi’s monumental “The People United Will Never Defeated,” which he has played throughout the nation. His performances of Rzewski’s music led the composer to ask Phelps to produce a new edition of his last major piece, “Ages,” which he premiered in the summer of 2021.
Phelps is active as a chamber musician, often playing with Erin Hall and Keith Nicholas as a founding member of the Elliston Trio. The trio has played throughout the nation in a repertoire that spans from Mozart to Joan Tower. Their performance of the Triple Concerto, under the baton of Earl Rivers, concluded Nashville’s Beethoven festival. He also frequently collaborates with Tucker Biddlecombe of Vanderbilt University and renowned countertenor Patrick Dailey.
Phelps received his degrees in conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where he studied with Earl Rivers and Mark Gibson. He studied piano with Elisabeth Pridonoff and Jackson Leung. He has the rare distinction of winning awards in three separate disciplines. (piano, organ, and conducting) He splits his time between Nashville and Over-the-Rhine with his wife Colleen and son Noah.
Associate Director
Associate Director | Manami White Manami White has performed both nationally and internationally with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and in numerous recital settings. An associate member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and an extra violinist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Manami is also concertmaster of Collegium Cincinnati, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and associate principal second violinist of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. In addition, she is guest concertmaster for other regional orchestras including the Ohio Valley Symphony, and the Richmond Symphony. She has also toured internationally with the American Sinfonietta.
Manami’s solo performances include appearances with the North Florida Symphony Orchestra, MUSE, and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. She has won First Prize honors in the Hemphill-Wells Sorantin Young Artist Competition, the Dorothy Starling Competition, and the concerto competition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Also an accomplished chamber musician, Manami has performed in the CCM Faculty and Alumni Chamber Music Series, the Taft Chamber Music Series, the Contemporary Arts Center Chamber Music Series and the Knox Music Series. Manami is Adjunct Professor of Violin and Viola at Xavier University.
Originally from Seattle, Manami received her bachelor’s degree from CCM and continued post-graduate work there. Past teachers have included Dorothy DeLay, Naoko Tanaka, Makoto Kaneshiro, and Katsutoshi Nakamura.
