Conductor and Tenor Matthew Jordan Miles Dies at 39

Conductor and tenor Matthew Jordan Miles died unexpectedly on September 5. He was 39.

Miles built a career that ran across the stage, the podium and the fundraising office of Los Angeles classical music. He held a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from the YSU Dana School of Music, earned in 2009, and a Master's Degree in Vocal Arts from the USC Thornton School of Music, completed in 2012.

In 2016 he joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale, where he sang under conductors including Grant Gershon, Jenny Wong and Eric Whitacre. He also performed in Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts led by Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Susanna Mälkki, among others.

What did Miles do beyond singing?

The obituary record points to a second, less visible career. Miles served as Director of Major Gifts at Classical California for nearly a decade, and sat on the board of the Pacific Opera Project. He held the post of Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mountainside Master Chorale.

He also co-founded the Los Angeles School of Music with his wife, Alana Miles. His most recent position was Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church Upland in Upland, California.

The breadth matters. A singer who conducts, fundraises, boards and teaches is a structural asset to a regional music economy — the kind of figure institutions struggle to replace when budgets tighten.

Who survives him?

Miles is survived by his wife Alana and their three children, his parents and step-parents, and his siblings. A memorial service took place on October 17.

What does this change for Los Angeles music?

The immediate losses are concrete: the Mountainside Master Chorale loses its artistic director, First Presbyterian Church Upland loses its music director, and the Los Angeles School of Music — a family venture — loses a co-founder. The longer-term question, which no announcement has yet answered, is who will take up the education and fundraising work Miles carried across nearly a decade at Classical California.

The cause of death has not been disclosed. Institutions connected to Miles have not, at the time of writing, announced succession plans.