With a track record of excellence spanning performance, pedagogy, research, directing, fundraising, and producing, Dr. Matthew Schloneger brings a wealth of experience to the fields of voice, opera, and musical theatre. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at the East Texas A&M University School of Music, where he teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy, and lyric diction.

​

While at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas (2017–2024), Schloneger’s students consistently excelled, earning annual national semifinal or finalist placements in the NATS National Student Auditions and achieving four consecutive national finalist appearances in the National Opera Association (NOA) Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, including a 2nd Place award in 2023. Friends University’s production of The Mikado, for which he served as producer, music director, and conductor, won 2nd Place in the NOA Opera Production Competition for Small Schools. His students have gone on to successful and varied careers in the performing arts, ranging from opera and musical theatre to socially engaged hip hop artistry, including work as a United Nations Young Leader.

​

As a producer and director, Schloneger founded Opera Seme in collaboration with Arezzo’s Spazio Seme in 2022, providing young American and Italian artists with world-class operatic training. He is a former Executive Director of Opera Kansas, an organization dedicated to affordable and accessible opera while creating professional opportunities for emerging singers. He also served for ten years as director and sixteen years as primary fundraiser for the Hesston–Bethel Performing Arts Series, presenting internationally recognized touring artists for concerts and educational residencies. In addition, he worked as a grant writer for Chicago’s Storycatchers Theatre, supporting incarcerated youth through the creation of hip hop musicals based on their own stories.

Schloneger’s passion for the singing voice and vocal health has led to award-winning research. He was co-winner of the 2017 Van Lawrence Fellowship of NATS and The Voice Foundation. His honors include Best Oral Research Presentation at the 2025 Pan-American Vocology Association Symposium, Best Research Poster at the 2022 PAVA Symposium and the 2014 NATS National Convention, and Best Student Presentation at the 2015 Voice Foundation Symposium. His research has been published in the Journal of Voice, the NATS Journal of Singing, the Journal of Research in Music Education, and the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. He has served as Central Region Governor of the Pan-American Vocology Association and Kansas Governor of NATS.

​

As an operatic tenor, Schloneger continues to perform in regional oratorio and operatic performances. He has recorded two albums of vocal chamber music with The Sunflower Trio (tenor, violin, and piano) and has sung principal roles with Opera Kansas, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Operafestival di Roma, and others. He holds degrees from the University of Kansas, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Goshen College, and Hesston College. He was a Rotary Scholar at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano and holds a certificate in French language from the Sorbonne.