Matthew Coley
Chicago

Matthew Coley is a marimba, percussion, and hammer dulcimer artist, composer, and clinician.  His range of experience as a musician is fully diversified.  Matthew has presented solo marimba and percussion concerts throughout the US and abroad, most recently performing at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of North Texas.  He placed third in the 5^th World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany, is a featured artist on the Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster for 2007-2009, endorsed by Vaughncraft Percussion, placed third in the 2005 WAMSO/Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and was a finalist in the 2004 Houston Symphony Orchestra Ima Hogg Young Artist Competitions.  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 soloist at three PAS International Conventions (2000, 2002, 2007) with the Northwestern University and University of North Texas percussion ensembles, as well as appearing as soloist with the Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, Moldavian Teleradio Symphony Orchestra, Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble, Third Coast Percussion Quartet, Texas Christian University Wind Ensemble, and Loyola University Orchestra of Chicago.  He has done several solo and chamber music performances, including the University of Kansas, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and -Whitewater, and Sherwood Conservatory of Music Chicago.  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.  In 2008 he will 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 and solo with the San Francisco Sinfonietta Orchestra. 

Matthew performs frequently as timpanist and percussionist in Chicago with groups such as the Illinois Philharmonic, Rockford Symphony, and New Philharmonic Orchestras.  He is widely sought after to accompany modern dance in Chicago 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 create and collaborated on works 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, and his Bachelors of Music degree from the University of North Texas in 2001 with Mark Ford and Christopher Deane. 

Matthew can be contacted on the web through www.hearmatthewcoley.com or www.sonicinertia.com.