March 17, 2026

NEWS RELEASE

The award-winning composer, music supervisor, orchestrator, pianist, and educator succeeds Liza Gennaro and will assume the role effective July 1, 2026.

NEW YORK, March 17, 2026 – Renowned international music conservatory Manhattan School of Music (MSM) announced today that Obie Award-winning composer, music supervisor, orchestrator, pianist, and educator Or Matias has been appointed Dean of the School’s prestigious Musical Theatre division, effective July 1, 2026. He assumes the mantle from acclaimed choreographer, author, and educator Liza Gennaro, who has led MSM Musical Theatre since July 2018.

“Or’s impressive record of creative innovation, his commitment to new works, and his distinctive cross-genre musical voice position him as an extraordinary leader of MSM’s Musical Theatre division as it enters its second decade at the School,” says Executive Vice President and Provost Joyce Griggs. “His years on our faculty and his longstanding commitment to access in arts education reflect values that deeply resonate with our mission and with the culture of learning and humanity we work to uphold every day.”

A passionate advocate for new work, Mr. Matias has helped develop more than 15 world-premiere productions, including Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Grey House, Black Swan, Particle Fever, Octet, My Joy Is Heavy, Preludes, Moby Dick, First Daughter Suite, Three Houses, and Travels. His collaborators have included Dave Malloy, Rachel Chavkin, Duncan Sheik, Phillipa Soo, Joe Mantello, Michael John LaChiusa, Rob Ashford, Leigh Silverman, and Sonya Tayeh, as well as performance work with Itzhak Perlman, Josh Groban, Ingrid Michaelson, and the Trans‑Siberian Orchestra.

Complementing his extensive experience as a theatre professional is a teaching record of nearly 20 years. Mr. Matias has taught students of all ages and backgrounds, and has taught a Contemporary Musical Theatre course on faculty at MSM for seven years. His work as an educator is driven by a passion to expand access to arts education, evidenced by his long‑standing collaborations with Opening Act NYC, Actionplay, and Manhattan Theatre Club as well as his contributions as a mentor and content creator for youth and global learning programs.

“Or is a supremely inventive, multi-faceted artist who has worked on and off Broadway, and his track record as an educator includes seven years as an important member of MSM’s Musical Theatre faculty,” says MSM President James Gandre. “He will build on Dean Gennaro’s impressive leadership and provide a smooth transition into a new era of Musical Theatre at Manhattan School of Music.”

MSM’s Musical Theatre degree program is the only conservatory program of its kind in New York City. On the cusp of its 10th anniversary, the program – led by Dean Liza Gennaro and Music Director David Loud – attracts professional artist-teacher faculty and guest artists, many of whom have created and performed in some of Broadway’s greatest successes. For a young program, it has graduated numerous notable alumni who have gone on to establish rewarding careers on- and off-stage. Among those in the former category are Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP! The Musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Wild Party at Encores!); Willie Beaton II (Broadway’s A Wonderful World); Sarah Thorn (Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, This World of Tomorrow with Tom Hanks and Kelli O’Hara); Alysia Velez (Broadway revival of Into the Woods), and many more.

“I am truly honored to step into the role of Dean of Musical Theatre at Manhattan School of Music this July,” says Mr. Matias. “I’m especially impassioned about continuing to nurture artists who are not only excellent performers but imaginative collaborators and creators; artists eager to explore new forms, champion new work, and push the boundaries of what musical storytelling can be.”

For further information, please contact Katharine Burns, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at kburns@msmnyc.edu or (917) 493-4132.

ABOUT OR MATIAS

Or Matias is an Obie Award-winning music supervisor, composer, orchestrator, and educator whose work has helped shape some of the most innovative productions in contemporary musical theatre. He has worked extensively on Broadway and on concert stages around the world, and is known for a distinctive cross-genre musical voice that blends classical, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and pop idioms.

A passionate advocate for new work, Matias has helped develop more than 15 world-premiere productions both on and Off Broadway as music director and orchestrator. These include Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway), Grey House (Broadway), Black Swan (American Repertory Theater), Particle Fever (La Jolla Playhouse), Octet (Signature Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre), My Joy is Heavy (New York Theatre Workshop), Preludes (Lincoln Center Theater), Moby Dick (American Repertory Theater), First Daughter Suite (The Public Theater), Three Houses (Signature Theatre), and Travels (Ars Nova). Many of these have gone on to additional productions internationally, with Matias serving as music supervisor and producer of the original cast recordings.

Matias has collaborated with many of the leading artists shaping contemporary theatre, including Dave Malloy, Rachel Chavkin, Duncan Sheik, Phillipa Soo, Joe Mantello, Michael John LaChiusa, Rob Ashford, Leigh Silverman, Sonya Tayeh, and others.

As a pianist and composer, Matias has performed internationally, with appearances across the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. His collaborators have included Itzhak Perlman, Josh Groban, Ingrid Michaelson, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. His original musical The Wave premiered at Landestheater Linz in 2020 and received multiple honors at the German Musical Theatre Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. He has also composed music for plays, film, and podcasts.

Alongside his performance and developmental work, Matias has been an educator since the age of 16, when he opened his first piano and songwriting studio. He has worked with ages ranging from 3 to 85 and believes that pedagogy is the best investment we can make in the future of our society. Over the years, he has worked with several organizations that strive to close the access gap in arts education, including Opening Act NYC, Actionplay, Manhattan Theatre Club, and others. He has been on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music for the last seven years, and his professional work actively bridges conservatory training with the contemporary musical theatre industry.

Matias holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. He is a sponsored Yamaha Artist and is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency | @ormatias

ABOUT MSM MUSICAL THEATRE

Manhattan School of Music, with its more than 100 years of excellence and its location in New York City, a veritable hub of musical theatre, is an ideal institution for a world-class musical theatre program. Today’s contemporary musical theatre is exploding with fresh ideas, possibilities, and opportunities.

While acting, voice, and dance remain the cornerstones of musical theatre training, contemporary performers must also be trained beyond the “triple threat” model. Now more than ever, multifaceted musical theatre artists are in demand. Virtual musicals and online content, devised practice workshops and dance labs require performers to be creative contributors to project development. In addition to learning the essential skills – singing, dancing, and acting – MSM

Musical Theatre students are encouraged to develop their artistic interests and are given the opportunity to investigate areas beyond performing, including directing, choreographing, writing, and composing.

The MSM Musical Theatre faculty is a stellar collection of artist-educators who combine exemplary teaching skills with the highest level of professional know-how, and embrace individuality, honoring each student’s journey. At MSM we are passionate about the arts and the next generation of musical theatre artists.

Liza Gennaro, Dean of Musical Theatre
David Loud, Program Music Director

ABOUT MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Founded as a community music school by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, today Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is recognized for its more than 1,000 superbly talented undergraduate and graduate students who come from 54 countries and nearly all 50 states; its innovative curricula and world-renowned artist-teacher faculty that includes musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the Met Orchestra, and the top ranks of the jazz and Broadway communities; and a distinguished community of accomplished, award-winning alumni working at the highest levels of the musical, educational, cultural, and professional worlds.

The School is dedicated to the personal, artistic, and intellectual development of aspiring musicians, from its Precollege students through those pursuing doctoral studies. Offering classical, jazz, and musical theatre training, MSM grants a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees. True to MSM’s origins as a music school for children, the Precollege Division is a professionally oriented Saturday music program dedicated to the musical and personal growth of talented young musicians ages 8 to 18. The School also serves some 2,000 New York City schoolchildren through its Arts-in-Education Program, and another 2,000 students through its critically acclaimed Distance Learning Program.

MSM LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Manhattan School of Music acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the Lenape and Wappinger past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. This calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit as well.