Biography
Matthew Coley, Marimba, Percussion, Hammer Dulcimer, and Cimbalom Artist; Founding Artistic Director, SONIC INERTIA
Matthew Coley is a marimba, percussion, and hammer dulcimer artist, composer, and clinician. Matthew has presented solo marimba and percussion concerts and has performed as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles throughout the US and abroad. Most recently, he has performed with the San Francisco Sinfonietta, Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, Moldavian Teleradio Symphony Orchestra, Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble, and Third Coast Percussion Quartet. He presented solo concerts at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of North Texas.
In September of 2008, he placed third in the prestigious 5th World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany. He is the only American ever to place. He also placed third and in the 2005 WAMSO/Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He was a finalist in the 2004 Houston Symphony Orchestra Ima Hogg Young Artist Competitions, and he won first place in the 2000 Music Teachers National Association Solo Percussion Competition, the 2000 Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Marimba Concerto Competition, and the 1999 Yamaha Young Performing Artist award.
Matthew has performed as a soloist at three PAS International Conventions (2000, 2002, 2007) with the Northwestern University and University of North Texas percussion ensembles. Other solo and chamber music performances include works with the University of Kansas, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and -Whitewater, and Sherwood Conservatory of Music Chicago. Matthew performs frequently as timpanist and percussionist in Chicago with groups such as the Illinois Philharmonic, Rockford Symphony, and New Philharmonic Orchestras.
In 2008, Matthew played the world premiere Tides and Riptides; Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra (with eight woodblocks) written for him by Bjorn Berkhout with the Sherwood Symphony Orchestra of Chicago. He will perform a concerto with the San Francisco Sinfonietta Orchestra in November 2008.
Matthew recently presented master classes in Chisinau, Moldova for “The Days of New Music Festival” and will return to premiere a percussion concerto, conduct percussion ensembles, teach master classes, and perform a duo concert with percussion artist, Cory Hills for the festival in 2009.
He is widely sought after to accompany modern dance in Chicago dance studios, including the Lou Conte Dance Studio (home of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago). Matthew is founding artistic director of SONIC INERTIA (dance + electronic media + live music), which also consists of smaller chamber groups, SI2, SI5, marimba and piano duo (Coley/Drews Duo) and a flute, bassoon, and percussion trio (Apollo Trio). He has advanced the repertoire for the hammer dulcimer in contemporary and chamber music settings with the efforts of these ensembles.
Matthew is a published composer with Innovative Percussion, Inc. and a clinician in a diverse field of percussion performance topics, as well as dance and multi-media collaboration. He has created works for and collaborated with Thodos Dance Chicago New Dances, Evanston Dance Ensemble, and Lincolnshire Academy of Dance.
He received his Masters of Music degree from Northwestern University in percussion performance and literature in 2003 under Michael Burritt and James Ross. He received his Bachelors of Music degree from the University of North Texas in 2001 with Mark Ford and Christopher Deane.
Matthew is endorsed by Vaughncraft Percussion and Innovative Percussion, and is a featured artist on the Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster for 2007-2009.
Matthew can be contacted on the web through www.hearmatthewcoley.com or www.sonicinertia.com.