BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Salvaggio is the Founder and Music Director of the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra and Music Director of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. He believes orchestras must regularly examine the repertoire they present and how they engage the communities they serve. His programming places the American symphonic tradition alongside contemporary and historically underrepresented voices, constructing cohesive seasons grounded in long-term artistic vision.
Salvaggio founded the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra to build a professional ensemble that presents bold, thoughtfully constructed programs while removing financial and geographical barriers to entry. The orchestra presents cornerstone symphonic works alongside emerging and historically underrepresented composers within carefully constructed programs that expand the scope of familiar repertoire. It has commissioned and premiered new music, including Griffin Candey’s “Double Aviary” for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra, and regularly leads commissioning consortia. Performances take place across the greater Cleveland area with pay-what-you-will admission and direct engagement from the podium, making access part of how the orchestra operates. The orchestra receives annual support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture along with sustained venue partnerships, and its audience base continues to expand each season.
With the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra, Salvaggio has programmed repertoire ranging from Dvořák’s Symphonies 7 and 9 and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 to large-scale American works including Hanson’s Symphony No. 3 and Foss’s Symphony No. 1. His seasons have also featured concertos by Rouse, Poulenc, and Gipps, as well as Michael Tilson Thomas’s From the Diary of Anne Frank. In reviewing performances of Hanson’s Symphony No. 3 and Anna Clyne’s This Moment, Cleveland Classical described his direction as “clear and expressive” and noted that his “love for the material was evident.”
As Music Director of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, Salvaggio leads the flagship Youth Symphony while overseeing eleven ensembles and a broad artistic staff serving an 84% minority-majority student body. During his tenure, the organization experienced significant growth, adding new ensembles and increasing enrollment by more than twenty percent while raising repertoire expectations and performance standards across the program. Alumni of the orchestra have continued their studies at institutions and conservatories throughout the country. He has also strengthened community partnerships, including a collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue that provides instruments and instruction to students who would not otherwise have access to ensemble training.
Prior to his appointments, Salvaggio served as Music Director of the Euclid Symphony Orchestra, where he expanded the concert season from four programs to five, broadened the scope and difficulty of repertoire, regularly commissioned new works, and engaged regional guest artists as featured soloists. During his tenure, both membership and artistic expansion increased, and he established the Tom Baker Young Artists’ Competition and an assistant conductor mentorship program to strengthen the ensemble’s long-term viability. Earlier appointments include leadership roles with the Erie Junior Philharmonic and University Heights Symphonic Band, as well as professorships in conducting at Mercyhurst University, Hiram College, and Lakeland Community College.
Much of Salvaggio’s programming focuses on the American symphonic repertoire of the twentieth century. He consistently programs music by the American symphonists, including Howard Hanson, Paul Creston, and David Diamond, among others, and considers this repertoire essential to American orchestral programming.
Salvaggio has collaborated with acclaimed artists including Alan Baer (Principal Tuba, New York Philharmonic), John Rautenberg (former Associate Principal Flute Cleveland Orchestra), John DiCesare (Principal Tuba, Seattle Symphony), Joshua Lauretig (Second Oboe, Buffalo Philharmonic), Ken Johnston (former Concertmaster, Erie Philharmonic). In 2025, he made his debut with the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra and has conducted at Severance Hall in Cleveland and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. He is a regular guest clinician with honor orchestras and community ensembles.
Salvaggio is a second-prize winner of The American Prize in Conducting and has appeared on the ClassicalQueer Podcast, Podium Time Podcast, and Everything Band Podcast, speaking on programming, leadership, and the evolving role of orchestral institutions.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Akron and a Master of Music in Conducting from Kent State University, where he studied with Scott Seaton and Wayne Gorder. He has undertaken additional conducting study in symposia with Donald Hunsberger, Mallory Thompson, Kenneth Kiesler, Craig Kirchhoff, Michael Haithcock, Michael Votta, and Rodney Winther.
Updated February 2026