“His astonishing tenor vocals capture the hopeful longing of boyhood along with the assured artistry of manhood. He is beautifully, achingly present in every line.”
“The utter essence of true cabaret genius.”
“...in a word...sensational.”
“Stearns Matthews has one of the best male voices on the cabaret scene today.”
Stearns Matthews is a MAC and Bistro Award winning vocalist based in New York City whose recent appearances include The Town Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Feinstein's/54 Below, and The Metropolitan Room. His critically acclaimed debut album SPARK won the 2015 Bistro Award for Outstanding Recording as well as the LaMott/Friedman Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Award for Outstanding Recording. He also won the 2015 MAC Award for Best Male Vocalist. Stearns holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Theater from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey under the tutelage of Dr. Christopher Arneson and Nova Thomas. He has performed regionally in musicals with Highfield Theatre, Philadelphia Music Theatre Works, Women's Theatre Company, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Favorite appearances include Albert Peterson in Bye, Bye, Birdie!, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, and Man 1 in The World Goes 'Round.
In 2017, Matthews released his recording of the song cycle December Songs, words and music by Maury Yeston. This marks the first time the cycle has been recorded with a male singer.
During his time at Westminster Choir College, Stearns also sang at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Riverside Church, NJPAC, and Spoleto Festival USA with the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the esteemed Westminster Choir, under the batons of Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Harry Bickett, David Robertson, and Dr. Joe Miller. He was a featured soloist with the Westminster Choir and Westminster Schola Cantorum.
In the summer of 2008, Stearns placed as first runner-up in the Metropolitan Room's first annual MetroStar Talent Challenge, despite being the youngest contestant to enter. In 2010, Stearns was one of twelve candidates selected to audition for the first annual Noel Coward Cabaret Competition, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation and has also appeared multiple times in the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Annual Cabaret Convention, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Town Hall. Stearns also serves on the Board of Directors of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC).
His private voice studio has a diverse client list from beginners to experienced Broadway performers. His work as a director has been seen at Emory & Henry College, Narrows Community Theatre, Westminster Choir College, and Smoke Rise Children's Theatre.