Dr. Matthew Arau, founder of Upbeat Global, is the Chair of the Music Education
Department and Associate Director of Bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory
of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. In addition, Dr. Arau is on the faculty of the American
Band College of Central Washington University and VanderCook College of Music. He
also serves as a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician and as Member-at-Large on the
NAfME Council for Band Education.
Dr. Arau has guest conducted and presented on student leadership, mindfulness,
growth mindset, rehearsal techniques, and creating positive cultures in over 25 states
and 4 continents. He has presented at the International Midwest Band and Orchestra
Clinic, the Western International Band Clinic, the NAfME National Conference,
numerous State and Regional Music Education Association Conferences, and the
Conn-Selmer Institute. He has conducted honor bands in Australia, Greece, Cyprus,
and Malaysia, and All-State honor bands across the United States. Dr. Arau teaches his
Upbeat! Leadership Program to student leaders and Drum Majors at in-person and
online camps around the United States and abroad.
Dr. Arau draws on a deep reservoir of fifteen years of experience as a successful
middle school and high school band director in Loveland, Colorado, where he led his
bands at Walt Clark Middle School and Loveland High School to numerous honor
performances and championships and pioneered the Leadership Symposium. Dr. Arau
holds a D.M.A. in Conducting and Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder
and a Master of Science in Music Education from the American Band College of
Southern Oregon University. He graduated magna cum laude from Lawrence
University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education,
Music Performance (Classical), Music Performance (Jazz Studies), and a Bachelor of
Arts in Government. He resides in Neenah, Wisconsin with his wife Merilee, their dog
Olive, and two sugar gliders - Little Foot and Flash.
https://www.upbeatglobal.com/leadership-summit
https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/education/programs/conn-selmer-institute-student-leadership