MIDLAND, MI, March 7, 2025 – After eight years of increasing leadership responsibility at the Midland Center for the Arts, Matt Travis has been named president and CEO.

Travis will lead the 114-member staff of the Center, which is home to the Midland Symphony Orchestra, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Center Stage Theatre, Broadway & Beyond, Matrix Midland and Midland County Historical Society. The cultural heart of the Great Lakes Bay Region, more than over 110,000 people visited the Center last year to attend a performance, volunteer in community theater, sing in one of the six choirs or take an art class.

The Center’s board unanimously elevated Travis, who had served as chief operating officer, to this key leadership role at its board meeting on Feb. 26. He replaces Jon Loos, who served in the role since 2022.

“Matt’s lifelong connection to the Center and the Great Lakes Bay community makes him uniquely qualified to steward its future,” Board Chair Jenifer Acosta said. “He has grown with this institution – first as an actor in our community theater program, then as a creator and now as a leader. His passion for the Center’s mission, its people and its patrons is genuine and unwavering.

“A big-picture thinker, Matt has been involved in all facets of the Center. In the past year, he has overseen programming, production, facilities, operations and IT, ensuring a seamless, high-quality experience for patrons while maintaining financial discipline. The board and I are confident Matt will do an exceptional job as our new president and CEO.”

Travis joined the Center in 2017 after completing his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Connecticut. During his time with the Center, he has served as director of the choral and orchestral programs and theater programs. After two years as senior director of artistic planning for the Center, Travis was appointed COO, where he was responsible for an increasing number of key initiatives and departments.

During his tenure with the Center, Travis has:

• Commissioned and produced the world premieres of several new choral and orchestral works.
• Created “Rising Stars,” a performing arts intensive for high school students.
• Fused many key relationships between industry partners and Midland Center.

“I find myself deeply inspired by how impactful the Center has been to me and to so many others,” Travis said. “As an 8-year-old, I took the stage for the first time in my life here at Midland Center for the Arts. It was a life-changing experience and a moment I think of constantly. I truly cannot state the gratitude I feel for this organization and for this community. To be given the opportunity serve as president and CEO is the honor of a lifetime.

“I am so grateful for the eight years I have spent at the Center in service of this community, grateful for the chance to provide once-in-a-lifetime events and experiences to many and grateful for the chance to use the Center as a mechanism to improve the quality of life to all who participate in our offerings. It is with deep gratitude that I lead the organization that has meant so much to me and so much to so many.”

Active professionally and in the community, Travis is a member of the Association for Performing Arts, Broadway League and League of American Orchestras. He is a trustee of the Bay Area Community Foundation and a member and past president of Bay City Morning Rotary. 

Travis holds a bachelor’s degree in music-voice performance from the University of Michigan and a master’s in music-choral conducting from Penn State, as well as a doctorate degree in musical arts from the University of Connecticut.

Travis lives in Bay City with his wife, Amanda, and their daughter, Beatrice.

ABOUT MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Midland Center for the Arts is a cultural hub for the Great Lakes Bay Region and State of Michigan. Imagine a place where you can experience the best of art, science, history, music, theatre, dance, and film, all under one stunning roof. This vibrant and unique institution, housed within an architecturally significant building, is a haven for artists, students, historians, and audiences alike. With its impressive 1,500-seat auditorium, 400-seat theater, interactive museum of science and art, Midland Symphony Orchestra, Center Stage Theatre, Midland County Historical Society, and Studio School art studios, the possibilities for entertainment and enrichment are endless. Ready to explore? Visit midlandcenter.org.

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