Lights Up!

Once a restless musician, Matt Oestreicher brightens community theatre.

From the spring 2026 issue of Sacred Heart University Magazine

Key Highlights

• Matt Oestreicher, executive director of the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre, has built the venue into a thriving regional arts destination that hosts concerts, films, lectures, live podcasts, family programming, and community events
• Before joining Sacred Heart, Oestreicher enjoyed a diverse career in music, collaborating with renowned artists including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx, and the Isley Brothers, while contributing to Broadway productions, the Apollo Theater and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
• He has spent nearly a decade producing music for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, helping create one of America's most recognizable annual musical traditions

When Matt Oestreicher and his two brothers were young, their parents registered them for both piano lessons and soccer. Their talents immediately began to diverge dramatically. “It quickly became obvious that my brothers were pulling away from me in soccer,” he says, “and I was pulling away from them on the piano.”

Oestreicher kicked off the cleats and never looked back, beginning a career in music and the arts and working with industry legends. Today, the 50-year-old is most focused on his 6-year-old daughter Hannah and his role as executive director of the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre.

Oestreicher’s creativity blossomed early.

“In the fifth-grade talent show at Fairfield Woods, I played the piano with my hands behind my back, and the final song was a Mozart piece,” he says.

Chasing the Sound

Oestreicher also picked up the guitar, taking first place in piano and second place in guitar at the Connecticut All-State competition one year in high school; he has even been known to play both at the same time. He also sings.

“I would listen to a piece of music and want to solve the mystery of how those sounds were made,” he explains. “I had great teachers who helped me decode the mystery. I became fascinated with jazz musicians. I thought they had very interesting lives.”

Soon, the high school student was playing regularly at a club in New Haven with musicians in their 50s and 60s. “I felt like they were able to roll with the ups and downs of life and had this cool even-temperedness that I sought,” Oestreicher recalls. “I was stressing about papers and tests and social situations, and their lives seemed fun and joyful.”

^{Creative Hub: Matt Oestreicher's office reflects a career spent balancing musicianship, production, and performance}

From Conservatory to Community

After studying music at the New England Conservatory and Tufts University, Oestreicher earned his master’s degree in counseling at NYU. “I ran a nonprofit arts education program along with Joe Gray, who I met while working at the Apollo Theater,” he says. “We wanted to give back. People were dealing with tough issues—loneliness, homelessness, guns, drugs.”

Oestreicher has toured and recorded “all over the place,” he says. “I loved learning how music and technology interface.”

He has worked with familiar names including Stevie Wonder, the Isley Brothers, Alicia Keys and Jamie Foxx. He has played in the house band for Swiss and Swedish television shows, been on the creative team for pop and rock Broadway shows—such as Beautiful Noise and Smokey Joe’s Café—and worked for the Apollo Theater. He has also written music for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

He attributes his career success to the friends and colleagues he has met along the way. “You are working on a project or traveling on a tour, and you run into people you know,” he explains. “The industry is interconnected. You catch and ride a wave with the connections you have made.”

The Room Where It Happens

That’s how he became involved with recording the music for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “It’s been nine years of chaos and brilliance run by the music director of Dancing with the Stars. I love being part of American musical cultural traditions, and the parade is a big one,” Oestreicher says.

The same group of musicians works on the parade music each year. “We record the music without the artists first, and then they come in the next day to sing,” he says. He loves the variety of the parade music, too. “We go from artists performing their latest hits or Christmas songs to Broadway stars singing songs from their shows or the music for the Santa’s Village float. It’s a chance to talk to people I might never meet otherwise.”

Building an Audience

Programming at the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre ranges from movies, concerts, lectures, and discussions to children’s events, premieres, live podcasts, book discussions, and more. “We are open to all suggestions and ideas,” Oestreicher says.

The University–Theatre partnership brings unique synergy. “The idea of taking the SHU universe and bringing it to the doorstep of the Fairfield community is exciting. There is so much the University has to offer. Every department on campus could find a way to create entertainment,” Oestreicher says.

He admits to spending five to seven evenings a week at the theatre. It started, he says, the first month the theatre opened in November 2021: “We did 21 shows that first month, and people were ready for it after COVID.”

He also has used his contacts to bring industry professionals to the theatre team. “They are not only experts in what they do, but they are committed to the mission of the theatre. We make ourselves invisible in service to the audience experience,” he says. “We are executing all the time. We can’t drop the ball on anything. We may do 200 shows a year, but this is the artist’s one show here. There is no room for egos. Everything has to go right.”

He smiles as he recalls a milestone: “The first time an agent booked us sight unseen was April 6, 2022, and then we were on our way.”

^{Showtime: Matt Oestreicher has spent years turning Sacred Heart University Community Theatre into a gathering place for artists, audiences, and the surrounding community.}

Downtown Impact

Oestreicher is also proud of the way the theatre has contributed to the prosperity of downtown Fairfield. The Main Street Accelerator program estimates the theatre has contributed $5 million to $8 million toward the success of downtown businesses.

“In addition to revitalizing a landmark building that had stood empty in the center of town for more than a decade, the SHU Community Theatre has added to the cultural vitality of Fairfield’s downtown and contributed to the economy with increased activity at local shops and nearby restaurants,” says Mark Barnhart, director of community and economic development for Fairfield.

Oestreicher also serves on the town’s Arts Commission that resulted in the state’s recent designation of Fairfield as an Arts & Cultural District, and he heads up the Cultural District Advisory Board.

“We focus on ways that we can support local artists and continue to build Fairfield’s profile as a culturally rich and arts-supportive community,” Oestreicher says. “We’re just trying to bring greater awareness and shine a spotlight on all of the amazing artists in our community, because there is a lot going on.”

The SHU Community Theatre is one of more than two dozen performance venues, cultural attractions, museums, historic sites, and creative businesses within Fairfield’s Arts & Cultural District. They sponsor local cultural events throughout the year.

“Matt is an invaluable member of the Fairfield community,” Barnhart adds.

Oestreicher has dreams for the future of the SHU Community Theatre that include expanding the lobby and adding a loading dock. “Mostly, though, we want to continue to get bigger and bigger shows while keeping tickets affordable,” he says. “And, of course, we will continue to provide programming that reflects the mission and vision of Sacred Heart University.”

Oestreicher is proud of his team of professionals who have worked hard to turn the Community Theatre into a go-to venue for both artists and fans. “We knew we needed to quickly establish ourselves and create credibility as a good team to work with and a place where artists would be paid and accommodated,” he says. “Now we are known through-out the industry, and we are sometimes chosen as an artist’s one stop in Connecticut over other regional venues.”

On most nights, as the lights dim following his introduction to the theatre and that evening’s show, he takes some time to enjoy watching strangers become neighbors for a little while, a community being moved together. “That’s the magic,” he says. “That’s why we do it.”

It’s the same mystery he chased as a kid listening to jazz records—something beautiful comes alive when people share it, one show at a time.