Born and raised in Seymour, Wisconsin, Matthew has been immersed in music since the age of three, when he began playing Suzuki violin. At age nine, he realized his love for the harp and pursued the study of this instrument, which would become the primary focus of his musical career.

Matthew’s harp studies began with Nancy Blanchard Watts in DePere and later continued with Danis Kelly of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. At the Interlochen Arts Camp, Matthew worked with Lynne Aspnes, who soon after became his harp instructor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in harp performance from University of Michigan and a master’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York where he worked with Nancy Allen, Principal Harpist of the New York Philharmonic. In 2005 and 2006, he continued his harp studies with Judy Loman at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario. Throughout his time spent as a student, Matthew has participated in master classes of the world’s leading harpists, including Yolanda Kondonassis, Sarah Bullen, Xavier de Maistre, Isabelle Moretti, Heidi Lehwalder, Isabelle Perrin, Deborah Hoffman, and Marie-Pierre Langlemet.

As soloist and chamber musician, Matthew’s career has encompassed recitals and concerto performances in Kansas, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. A strong advocate of contemporary music, Matthew has inspired many composers of his generation to write pieces for him. He has also premiered numerous works in groups such as Brave New Works, the Contemporary Directions Ensemble of the University of Michigan, Music In Time at the Spoleto Festival USA, and the New Juilliard Ensemble in New York. In 2005, Matthew appeared in recital with flutist Elizabeth Janzen at Carnegie Hall, in a premier performance of a piece by J. Mark Stambaugh, professor of composition at the Manhattan School of Music. Most recently, Matthew premiered three works written by doctoral students of composition at Cornell University, as part of the school’s new music concert series.

As an orchestral harpist, Matthew has played under the baton of some of the greatest conductors of this era, including Charles Dutoit, Sir Colin Davis, James Conlon, Marin Alsop, Naeme Jarve, Emanuel Villaume, and James DePriest. Formerly the principal harpist of the Plymouth (Michigan), Green Bay Civic, and Adrian Symphony Orchestras, Matthew has also served as principal harpist for the New York Sinfonietta, Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra (USA), Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony Orchestra, University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and New York Repertory Orchestra. As a member of these orchestras, Matthew has performed at venues across North America and Europe, such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher, Alice Tully, Merkin, Lucerne Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Konzerthaus Berlin.

In addition to his performance endeavors, Matthew composes, arranges, and teaches harp in Milwaukee.