Matt Evans
D.M.A. in Saxophone Performance and Literature, Eastman School of Music
M.A. in Music Theory Pedagogy, Eastman School of Music
M.M. in Saxophone Performance, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
B.M. in Saxophone Performance, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Dr. Matt Evans is an accomplished soloist, chamber musician, educator, and arranger who has performed and taught across the globe. Currently a saxophonist in the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” Matt also serves as Adjunct Instructor of Saxophone at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Matt has been a featured performer at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conferences in 2012 and 2018, and was a featured soloist at the 2018 Midwest Clinic with the U.S. Army Concert Band. In 2012, he won 2nd Prize at the MTNA Young Artist Soloist Competition, and he is a recipient of the Performer’s Certificate from both the Eastman School of Music and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the highest performance distinction awarded at both institutions. In 2018, Matt received the COL Finley R. Hamilton Outstanding Military Musician Award as a member of “Pershing’s Own.”
A founding member of the Zzyzx Quartet, Project Fusion, and the Eastman Saxophone Project, Matt is a laurate of numerous national and international chamber music competitions including the Gold Medal at the 40th Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the Grand Prize and Hugo Vianello Audience Choice Award at the 6th International Plowman Competition, 1st Prize at the 2013 MTNA Young Artist Chamber Music Competition, the Coleman-Saunderson Prize at the 66th Annual Coleman Chamber Music Competition. He has won additional prizes at the 2012 J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition and the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Saxophone Quartet Competition, and in 2015 was a winner of the Astral Artists National Auditions. In 2012, Matt was awarded the John Celantano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music.
A passionate teacher, Matt has taught students of all ages and skill levels in elementary, secondary, and collegiate settings. Matt previously taught saxophone at the Eastman Community Music School, where he was a mentor and ensemble director for the New Horizons International Music Association. He has taught music theory at the Eastman School of Music and Roberts Wesleyan College, and in 2012 won Eastman’s Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Matt’s arts leadership roles include serving as the current executive director of Project Fusion, and assistant director of the Eastman Saxophone Project during the 2012-2013 season. Matt is past-president of OSSIA New Music, Eastman’s student-run new music ensemble, and frequently commissions and premieres new works by American composers including David Maslanka, John Mackey, Marc Mellits, and Carter Pann, among others.
Matt studied saxophone with Dr. Otis Murphy and Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin. He can be heard on the Zzyzx Quartet’s two critically acclaimed albums Zzyzx Road (2010) and Intersections (2013). Matt is an Artist-Clinician for D’Addario Woodwinds and a Yamaha Performing Artist.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“Dr. Matt Evans is an inspiration to young saxophonists all over the country. Not only has he attained a high level of success as a professional saxophonist, his empathy towards his students and their surroundings always ensures a positive and effective learning experience for everyone.”