"Matzen's trumpeting is sharp and persuasive ... "
Jack Bowers, Allaboutjazz.com
Jack Bowers, Allaboutjazz.com
About
American trumpeter Max Matzen is an active performer throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He is currently a member of The Emerald Brass Quintet, which recently released its feature album Danzón on the Albany label. In 2012, Matzen was named principal trumpet of the American Festival Orchestra (UT) and more recently joined the trumpet section of the Utah Festival Opera as both section and principal trumpet. He has also performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Lubbock Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Additionally, Matzen has performed as a member of the Eastman Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Il.
Matzen has given recitals and masterclasses at multiple institutions worldwide and has performed and presented clinics at conferences of the International Trumpet Guild, the International Saxophone Congress, Florida Music Educator's Conference, Utah Music Educator's Conference, and the Jazz Education Network Conference. As a soloist, he has performed with the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra, The Texas Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble, The Utah State University Symphony Orchestra, and the Utah State Alumni Band. As a member of Aggie Music Project, the USU faculty jazz combo, Matzen recently completed a tour of the Umbria (Italy), Vienne (France) and Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festivals.
A highly active educator, Matzen served as Professor of Trumpet at Texas Tech University for two years starting in 2010, before joining the faculty at Utah State University in 2012. He also serves as a faculty member for American Band College (OR) as well as a clinician on behalf of the Bach division of the Conn-Selmer corporation. Students from Matzen's trumpet studio have earned positions in some of America's premier organizations such as The United States Marine Band President's Own, as well as earning graduate school offers from institutions such as Indiana University, The University of North Texas, and The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
A devoted scholar and researcher, Dr. Matzen is a regular contributing author to the International Trumpet Guild Journal, as well as The Instrumentalist. In addition, Matzen currently can be heard on the Sea Breeze and Albany labels as a soloist and ensemble member. He earned a MM and DMA (Performance and Literature) from the Eastman School of Music and a BM (Jazz Studies) from the University of North Florida, and is an artist and clinician for the Bach division of the Conn-Selmer Corporation.