Lyric Baritone Matthew John Zatko, serves as Adjunct Professor of Voice in the classical division and in commercial music and digital instruments (CMDI). Matthew is an Ohio native from the greater Toledo area in Northwest Ohio. Matthew received a Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University in 2018 where he specialized in choral music education and general elementary music education. He studied voice under Dr. Scott McCoy (author of: Your Voice an Inside View) as well as Dr. Robin Rice (author of: Great Teachers on Great Singing). During his time in Columbus, he appeared in several productions with Opera Columbus, including: La Boheme, Carmen , and Mission: Seraglio . He then performed his first role with Opera Project Columbus as The Page in their production of Amahl and The Night Visitors.

Upon completion of his Bachelor’s, Matthew traveled to Rochester, New York where he earned a Master’s of Music in performance and literature from the renowned Eastman School of Music in 2020. At Eastman, he studied under Dr. Jonathan Retzlaff (author of: Exploring Art Song Lyrics: Translation and Pronunciation of the Italian, German and French Repertoire) as well as Katherine Ciesinski. In Rochester, Matthew made his operatic lead role debut, as Don Giovanni, in Eastman Opera Theater’s production of Don Giovanni . He then went on to perform the role of Simone in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi . Professionally, Matthew performed as a featured soloist for The Opera Guild of Rochester in their “Bravo Nights” concerts and also as a soloist with the Eastman Bach Cantata Series.

After completing his degree at Eastman, Matthew traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend Carnegie Mellon University. At CMU, Matthew studied under soprano Jennifer Aylmer. There he made his debut as a tenor, performing the role of Prince Charming in Carnegie Mellon’s production of Cendrillon (Viardot) and also performing several supporting roles in Ravel’s L’enfant est Les Sortiléges . He then completed the Advanced Studies in Music Certification from CMU in 2022.

Matthew resides and teaches in both Athens, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. In addition to his duties at OU, Matthew is a Master Teacher of Voice and Percussion with the Athens Community Music School (ACMS) and also a private music instructor based in Upper Arlington, Ohio.