About
A pianist who plays what he loves — and loves what he plays
Matthew · New York City
Hi! I'm Matthew — a professional pianist based in New York City with a diverse musical range that spans classical, jazz, stride, ragtime, blues, Broadway, contemporary, film, television, and video game music. I've performed at jazz clubs, hotels, churches, weddings, cocktail hours, senior living communities, and private events in NYC and around the world.
My musical journey was self-directed from the start. I first learned piano as a kid playing a video game (The Miracle Piano Teaching System) using a 49-key MIDI keyboard connected to my dad's PC, before I was reluctantly enrolled in lessons for one year with a local teacher that nearly made me quit piano for good. I did quit lessons for good, but not the piano.
After quitting piano lessons, I miraculously managed to carve out even more time at the piano — this time entirely on my own terms, teaching myself increasingly difficult works by everyone from J.S. Bach to Scott Joplin to Alan Menken to Koji Kondo. That unrelenting desire to continually challenge myself eventually earned me a Minor in Piano Performance from the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music, where I furthered my classical and jazz studies and discovered my passion for performing and connecting with others.
To this day, I can still play piano for hours on end (just ask my wife!), and will happily sit down at just about any piano I come across.
You can watch and listen to my piano playing here.