Matthew Coley Marimba Soloist

 

Matthew Coley is an internationally acclaimed performer and the artistic director of the Heartland Marimba Festival. He has been described as "off the charts" (John Cook, Westminster Presbyterian Fine Arts Series, Des Moines, IA), while "delivering virtuoso...exquisite soloing on marimba" (Lauren Warnecke, seechicagodance.com). Performing on marimba, percussion, hammered dulcimer/cimbalom, and glass, Matthew travels regularly bringing the beauty of the marimba's singing wood and the diverse timbre of other percussion and dulcimers to many audiences. About his dulcimer performing it has been written that “Coley rips across the strings of the hammered dulcimer with abandon bordering on delirium!” (Linda Shapiro, Chicago Press Review). Matthew has performed in over 30 US states, 10 countries, and as a soloist with ensembles throughout the US and abroad including Clocks in Motion Percussion, Heartland Marimba Festival Collective and Quartet, Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, Sudar Percussion of Croatia, San Francisco Sinfonietta, Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, and Moldavian Philharmonic and Teleradio Symphony Orchestras.

Matthew served as the Percussion Faculty in the Iowa State University Department of Music and Theatre from 2009-2015. He now splits his time between solo performing and directing the Academy, SoundWAYS, Collective, Quartet, and Publications divisions of the Heartland Marimba Festival. Matthew is passionate about continuing to build on HMF’s mission and the future of the organization, as well as bringing the marimba, dulcimer, and their composers into the spotlight through unique projects and performances for diverse audiences.

Matthew regularly collaborates with composers looking for unique ways to push the percussion repertoire. Works that he has commissioned and/or premiered include: Lurgy for Carillon and Percussion Ensemble by Neil Thornock (premiered at Iowa State University, 2013); Rural Sketches for Marimba and Contrabass Ensemble by Igor Iachimciuc (premiered at Chicago Cultural Center, 2014); Glass House Concerto for Solo Percussion (glass, metal, wood, and stone) and Wind Ensemble by Andrew Ardizzoia (premiered at University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, 2013); Images of Africa for Dulcimer and Percussion Sextet by Steven Simpson (premiered at University of Iowa, 2014); and most recently he has created and premiered with the Central Iowa Symphony a version of Haydn’s Concerto in C for cimbalom, vibraphone, and marimba. In addition, he has commissioned and/or premiered many solos for marimba and dulcimer.