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Enthusiastic and innovative, I have worked as a musician, administrator, and educator in a wide variety of settings. Whether working on a project individually or as a part of a collaborative team, nothing excites me more than discovering a new idea and transforming it into a physical reality. From musical compositions to strategic plans for non-profits, I celebrate the beauty of the human experience by connecting people with music.
Director of a celebrated classical music concert series in San Francisco presenting over 60 concerts per year featuring primarily local musicians playing piano solo, chamber music and world music concerts. Programming is focused on new music, music by underrepresented composers, and emerging artists.
Directed vibrant music program for mid-size suburban Catholic church including music planning, volunteer recruiting and rehearsal, playing the piano and organ and directing the choir, and serving as the de facto technology consultant for both the church and the school.
Here are some of the names people have called me, and some that I’ve called myself. Each one captured something unique about me that couldn’t be communicated by my given name alone.
Maestro Matt
Having conducted an orchestra and choirs, “Maestro Matt” is more of a title than a nickname. However, because being a maestro hasn’t been my main gig, I feel awkward using it as an official title — except when I’m working in my capacity as a teaching artist at the San Francisco Opera. When I’m collaborating with a classroom of kids or a group of educators in a professional development session to create a new piece, I use many of the same listening and leadership skills as I do when conducting a group of musicians.
Samba
During one of the long cold winters in Chicago, I discovered a Brazilian group that regularly took over a bar and played Samba complete with dance lessons. I loved the music, the dancing, and the people. In addition to being a regular at the Samba events, I brought along lots of friends. Even at non-Brazilian parties, I would spontaneously break into Samba dance moves. Naturally, my friends started calling me “Samba Matt” and then, in true Brazilian one name tradition, just “Samba.”
Wolkamatic
As a freshly minted Ensign in the US Navy, I reported to my first ship, the USS New Jersey and was assigned to the Operations department. Like any government job, it involved processing a lot of paperwork – piles and piles of messages, forms, requests, files, and calendars. I’ve always been good at organizing and completing tasks, so I could buzz through a large stack of paperwork faster and more accurately than any one else in the department. As new projects came in, the department heads started saying, “Give that to Wolkamatic!”
Astroboy
I dated a Japanese woman in Chicago and found the Japanese culture fascinating and wonderful. One day, she told me she thought I looked like Astroboy, a character I had never heard of before. Soon, she presented me with an Astroboy t-shirt and not long after that, all her Japanese friends were calling me “Atomo,” which is the Japanese word for Astroboy. I definitely can identify with Astroboy’s problem-solving, determination, do-gooding nature and atomic superpowers. I’m still not sure there’s an actual physical resemblance.
Willy
I joined my second ship in the Navy, the USS Normandy, while it was deployed in the Red Sea. I went from one of the oldest ships in the fleet to one of the newest and most of the other officers had been with the ship since its commissioning. Everyone had a catchy nickname: Frenchy, Brick, and A-Bear are some examples. It didn’t take long for this crew to start calling me “Willy” as in “Willy Wonka,” just one letter different from my last name.
Joe Scientist
Sorry Elon Musk, my friend Scott Rogers and I invented the hyperloop transit system in junior high. In fact, we designed pages and pages of spacecraft, airplanes, exotic automobiles, a jeep replacement for the U.S. Army, and even an exclusive residential complex on the California coast. Around this time, I also made it a project to read every science fiction book at our small public library (pretty sure I made it past Heinlein). My classmates began calling me “Joe Scientist” like the Snoopy character, and then just “Joe” for short.
Pele
The famous Brazilian soccer star, improbably enough, closed out his career in the United States and, as a kid, I was immediately transfixed. My parents got me a soccer ball, and soon I was playing all the time (my dad even helped build full-size soccer goals for my elementary school). One day after school, I was playing with some big kids and I deftly dribbled past several of them and boomed a shot into the corner of the net. One of them said, “This kid’s like Pele!” and the name stuck.
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