Violinist Matthew Bennett began his orchestral career at the age of 18 with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. One of Matthew’s fondest memories is walking into the concert hall for the first time and being filled with anticipation and pride. As the youngest member of the orchestra, he was able to learn a lot from his colleagues. Since then, Matthew has enjoyed performing in many orchestras in Germany, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, and Arkansas. Matthew’s recent positions include the Omaha Symphony, Richmond Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, New Generation Orchestra in Florence, Italy, and the Philharmonie Der Animato Stiftung in Zurich, Switzerland.
Although Matthew is deeply passionate about orchestral playing, there are so many ways to enjoy classical music. In 2008, Matthew won the Oral Roberts University 20th Century Music Competition with Joan Tower’s Platinum Spirals. Winning that competition sparked Matthew’s interest in discovering and performing New Music. Soon after, Matthew premiered works for violin and piano by the Los Angeles based composer, Joshua Peterson and in 2012, Matthew worked closely with Grammy-winning composer, Michael Colina and premiered Stairway to a Midnight Cafe in New York City. In promoting New Music, Matthew has performed with Black House Collective as well as the avant-garde performance ensemble Helerud.
Chamber music is another musical avenue that Matthew is starting to explore. It is very rewarding and allows each individual voice to be heard switching from melody to accompaniment. Performing chamber music recitals has allowed Matthew to perform in some exciting places like Morse Concert Hall at the Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, the Momentary Gallery, Crystal Bridges, and the Lied Center of Kansas for DukeTIP. He was also invited to play for the fundraising gala for the Tulsa Symphony and Lincoln’s Symphony. Matthew has made numerous appearances on the radio and has performed on the Fox4 Morning Show.
While studying at the University of Kansas, Matthew was the Director of Chamber Music at Bishop Seabury Academy. It was incredibly challenging to engage a room full of middle schoolers, but also one of his most entertaining and rewarding jobs. Later on, Matthew was invited to Pittsburg State University to teach as a guest as well as String Works at the University of Kansas. Currently he is a teaching artist for Harmony Project KC. In his own education, he is immersed in historical performance practice while performing with the Kansas City Baroque Consortium.