Nestled between Dow Gardens and Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in the heart of
Midland, Midland Center for the Arts is home to the city’s fine and performing arts. In the 1960s, a group of like-minded individuals came together to put ideas into action by housing science and art under one roof. Ground was broken on the current building in 1968, and was officially turned over to the Board of Directors in 1971. The current Center is home to the Midland Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Science & Art, Center Stage Theatre, and much more.
Dr. Matt Travis is Midland Center for the Arts’ Chief Operating Officer, overseeing facilities and production. Besides being a super nice and personable guy, he has a pretty extensive resume. In 2017, Travis joined the Center as Music Director of Center Stage programs. In this position, he selected repertoire and conducted performances in community-based musical theatre and choral programs. Since then, his role expanded to planning and producing performances for the Midland Symphony Orchestra alongside Maestro Bohuslav Rattay and oversight of Center Stage Theatre.
Travis created and produced RISING Stars, a musical theatre intensive in which high school students collaborate directly with Broadway professionals on a full-length musical. In recent years, he has been recognized as an emerging industry leader through programs and accolades from the League of American Orchestras and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, and that’s just scratching the surface. If you have the opportunity to chat with him, take it!
Catalyst Midland was fortunate enough to talk with Travis about the upcoming MATRIX:MIDLAND Series.
What is the MATRIX:MIDLAND Series?
The Matrix Series started in 1978, just seven years after the Center was founded, as a kind of celebration of learning. It was a wonderful intersection of arts and sciences, and humanities. There is a great quote from the director of the center at the time, Mr. Don Jaeger, just talking about how we are better as a community when we are with others who are better, smarter, and kinder than us. Through their experiences and their expertise, that’s how we continue to learn and grow as a society, and we use that to uplift and inspire others. I think, while certainly things have twisted and changed and modified over the course of nearly 50 years, which is pretty remarkable, that sentiment is what we try to do with Matrix.
What can we expect from this year’s lineup?
This year we’ve got a pretty eclectic mix. Each concert I am excited about for a different reason. We have the string quartet from Bridgerton (Vitamin String Quartet). We have Ben Folds (Ben Folds Paper Airplane Request Tour), an artist that I have loved and admired for many years.
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MatrixWe have Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery (Jane Lynch’s A Swingin’ Little Christmas), who you might know from their work on Glee and The Office. What you may not know is that they are incredible singers, and they have this wonderful Christmas shtick-ful show with beautiful music, and it will be a great, fun way to kick off the holiday season.
We also have Haunted Objects LIVE! right in time for Halloween. The folks from the Newkirk Museum will bring in various objects and talk about their paranormal history. If you are a Halloween enthusiast or like spooky things, that will be a great show for you.
What are you looking forward to the most, personally?
When I was in middle school, the very first concert that I went to without my parents was Ben Folds Five. It seems like another lifetime ago and I vividly remember sitting on the hill at Pine Knob. It was Pine Knob then, and then DTE Music Theater, and now it’s Pine Knob again, so it’s this wonderful kind of nostalgia circle. I vividly remember being there with my friends and just having this incredible moment of freedom and just loving the music.
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MatrixBen Folds is part of the exciting 2024 lineup.
Ben Folds is an artist that I feel that I have grown up with. I remember listening to him as I moved into college. One of his songs was played at my wedding. I am a weeping wreck whenever I hear the music about his kids. I think about that a lot differently now as a father. He’s the artist I feel like I have kind of pictured being alongside him. We have tried to bring him here for a few years now. I am really excited to experience that and with the community. You don’t get too many full-circle moments like that in life, and I am looking forward to being just a fan that night, and I think it will be a lot of fun.
Additional thoughts on the series?
I would be remiss not to mention the incredible Matrix Council members who work diligently with myself and our Vice President of Programming, Bryan Jao, to curate the season. We go through and vet dozens and dozens of artists and talk about the benefits of bringing them in and their time and expertise is incredibly valuable. We are really proud that Matrix is deeply connected to the community, in that regard, and that really does help us program the season.
How can people buy tickets?
They are welcome to call our box office at (989) 631-5930, or the preferred method is visiting our
website.
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