Arts Link
Musical Theater
Matt Boresi serves as Director of Special Initiatives at the Music Institute of Chicago, overseeing initiatives such as our One Composer One Community Initiative and the Martin Luther King Community Celebration. Matt has previously overseen our classroom outreach and musical theatre programs. His teaching and directing experience includes music theatre at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, Lake Forest Academy, Carthage College, North Central College, and Northwestern University. Matt is an award-winning opera librettist whose work has been produced at such institutions as Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Memphis, Charlottesville Opera, Carnegie Mellon University, and Lyric Theatre @ Illinois. Matt lives in Evanston with his wife, NU voice professor Melissa Foster, and their daughter, actress Viva Boresi.
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Theatre Writing, New York University
Bachelor's Degree in Theatre performance, North Central College
Teaching philosophy and areas of expertise:
Matt is a firm believer that Musical Theatre is a cultural cornerstone of our country, firmly rooted in the American spirit and experience, and that all forms of lyric theatre, from Opera to Broadway, represent a glorious intersection of the arts. There some of humanities most enduring myths, stories, and characters can be brought to life in a manner that only music, drama, and dance can provide.
Matt's personal favorite interest is seeing a performer, young or old, create a new role on stage - using the grand theatrical tradition to tell new stories to a world longing to better understand itself.
Outside of the worlds of Musical Theatre and Opera, Matt enjoys cooking, gardening, baseball, comic books, and spending time with his wife, Musical Theatre Professor Melissa Foster and their daughter Viva.
Favorite quote:
"Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force."
- Broadway legend Irving Berlin
Favorite composer or piece to play:
Matt is crazy for the musicals Passing Strange, A Little Night Music, Ragtime, Barnum, The Music Man, and Guys and Dolls, and the operas Otello, The Barber of Seville, A View from the Bridge, and all things Gilbert and Sullivan.