Biography

Dr. Matt Caine is Director of Traditional Music at St. John's Methodist Church, Aiken, SC, where he oversees a robust music program and conducts multiple choirs, instrumental ensembles, and a professional chamber orchestra. Matt made his European debut conducting Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem with the Vidin State Philharmonic Orchestra and Morski Zvutsi Chorus in Varna, Bulgaria, in 2006. His most recent conducting engagement was as guest conductor of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra in a performance of Haydn's Missa in angustiis and Conte's Invocation and Dance.

Both a Fulbright Scholar and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow in Bulgarian Language of the US Department of Education, Matt's published research in Bulgarian music is frequently cited by scholars in both Bulgaria and the United States. Matt has created performing editions of and has conducted the U.S. première of over 30 pieces of Bulgarian choral music. He has been a presenter at two National Conferences (2013 and 2021) of the American Choral Directors' Association, in addition to several regional and state level music conferences. Matt is in frequent demand as a guest clinician for both orchestras and choruses.