Profile for

Matthew Schloneger, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Music in Voice

Matthew Schloneger is Assistant Professor of Voice at East Texas A&M University, where he teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy, lyric diction, vocal literature, and music literature. With a career spanning more than 25 years in higher education, Schloneger brings experience in voice, vocal pedagogy, opera and musical theatre performance and production, directing, and voice research. His students have earned regular first- and second-place regional finishes in National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Student Auditions and have advanced to NATS national semifinal and final rounds. His collegiate opera and musical theatre productions have also received national recognition, including multiple National Opera Association (NOA) Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition finalist placements and a second-place finish in the NOA Opera Production Competition.

As an accomplished producer, director, conductor, and vocal coach, Schloneger is the Founder and Executive Director of Opera Seme, a young artist opera program based in Arezzo, Italy. Since its founding in 2020, Opera Seme has provided emerging singers with intensive performance and training opportunities in collaboration with Italian musicians and arts organizations. He also served as Executive Director of Opera Kansas from 2023–2025 and previously spent 10 years as Director and primary fundraiser for the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series, bringing professional touring artists to south-central Kansas for performances and educational residencies.

Schloneger has channeled his passion for the singing voice and vocal health into award-winning research. His research focuses particularly on vocal dosimetry, vocal load, voice use and vocal efficiency, repertoire tessitura, acoustic and perceptual measures of voice, and the application of voice science to singing pedagogy. He was awarded the 2017 Van Lawrence Fellowship from the National Association of Teachers of Singing and The Voice Foundation and has received additional national awards for research presentations. In 2026, he became a PAVA-Recognized Vocologist (PAVA-RV). His research has been published in the Journal of Voice, Journal of Singing, Journal of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and Choral Journal. His recent research includes investigations of vocal dose during repeated operatic performances and neural correlates of song learning using EEG.

As an operatic tenor, Schloneger continues to perform as a soloist in opera and oratorio. He has performed principal and supporting roles with Opera Kansas, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Operafestival di Roma, Opera Theatre of Lucca, Whitewater/Sorg Opera, and other organizations. He has also performed extensively as a concert soloist, including performances of Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, and other major works. For 20 years, he performed with The Sunflower Trio, a chamber ensemble for tenor, violin, and piano/organ, with which he produced two commercial recordings.

educational background

• Ph.D., Music Education, Vocal Pedagogy, The University of Kansas, 2014
• Corso di Perfezionamento, Voice, Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano, 1999–2000
• M.M., Voice, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 1998
• Certificat de Langue Français, Niveau Supérieur B, Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne, 1995
• B.A., Music, Vocal Performance and Sociology, Goshen College, 1995
• A.A., Liberal Arts, Hesston College, 1992

pROFESSIONAL oRGANIZATIONS

• National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), DFW Chapter Board of Directors, 2026–present
• Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA), Central Region Governor, 2019–2021
• National Opera Association
• The Voice Foundation
• Journal of Voice, Editorial Board

hONORS AND aWARDS

• Best Oral Research Presentation, Pan American Vocology Association Symposium, 2025
• ETAMU CHSSA Research Grant, 2025
• Finalist, Honorable Mention, Music Director, The American Prize in Theater/Musical Theater Performance, 2024
• 2nd Place, Director, National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, 2022
• Best Poster Presentation, Pan American Vocology Association Symposium, 2022
• 2nd Place, National Opera Association Opera Production Competition, 2018
• Van Lawrence Fellowship, The Voice Foundation and NATS, 2017
• Best Research Poster, NATS National Conference, 2014

selected publications

• Schloneger, M. (2022). “Undergraduate Singers' Voice Use During an Intensive Week of Choir and Musical Rehearsals: A Case Study.” International Journal of Research in Choral Singing.
• Schloneger, M., Hunter, J., & Maxfield, L. (2021). “Quantifying Vocal Repertoire Tessituras Through Real-Time Measures.” Journal of Voice, 38(1), 247.e11–247.e25.
• Schloneger, M., & Manternach, B. (2021). “Vocal Dose of Preservice Music Therapists, Preservice Music Teachers, and Other Undergraduate Students.” Journal of Voice, 35(2), 328.e1–328.e10.
• Schloneger, M., & Manternach, B. (2020). “Technology Translated to Teaching: Exploring Vocal Dosimetry.” Journal of Singing, 76(3), 319–326.
• Manternach, J., Schloneger, M., & Maxfield, L. (2019). “Effects of Straw Phonation and Neutral Vowel Protocols on the Choral Sound of Two Matched Women's Choirs.” Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(4), 465–480.
• Schloneger, M., & Hunter, E. (2017). “Assessments of Voice Use and Voice Quality Among College/University Singing Students Ages 18–24 Through Ambulatory Monitoring with a Full Accelerometer Signal.” Journal of Voice, 31(1), 124.e21–124.e30.
• Schloneger, M. (2012). “The A Cappella Oratorio: An Investigation of Interactions Between Ethos and Fine Art in Choral Singing Among Old Mennonites at Hesston College (1912–1949).” International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 4(1), 60–79.
• Schloneger, M. (2011). “Graduate Student Voice Use and Vocal Efficiency in an Opera Rehearsal Week: A Case Study.” Journal of Voice, 25(6), e265–e273.