Music
Episode 49: Teaching to Their Strengths - A conversation with Max Matzen Noted for his sharp and persuasive playing (Jack Bowers, allaboutjazz.com), Max Matzen is steadily emerging as one of America's prominent trumpet artists. He maintains an international performing career as a soloist, and member of a variety of ensembles. Mr. Matzen has tallied performances on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals. He has performed with the Eastman Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and has also performed at the famed North Sea, Vienne, and Montreaux jazz festivals. He has performed and assisted in master classes administered at the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) conferences in Toronto, New York City, and New Orleans. In May of 2011, Matzen completed a solo recital tour in the Osaka and Kyoto areas of Japan. As a member of the Emerald Brass Quintet, he was a featured performer in the premier of Jim Stephenson’s Dodecafecta for brass quintet and wind ensemble, accompanied by the Eastman Wind Ensemble. The Emerald Brass Quintet was also a featured performing ensemble at the Frankenwald Brass Festival in Hof, Germany in July 2009. Notable jazz artists he has performed with include Terence Blanchard, Benny Green, Slide Hampton, Antonio Hart, The Heath Brothers, Conrad Herwig, Pat Martino, Bob Mintzer, James Moody, Eddie Palmieri, Maria Schneider, Ira Sullivan, and the legendary Clark Terry. In April 2011 Matzen completed the Doctor of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music where he studied trumpet with esteemed brass pedagogue James Thompson. He currently holds a Master of Music in trumpet performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in jazz studies from the University of North Florida. From 2010 until 2012 Matzen was the Assistant Professor of trumpet at Texas Tech University. Matzen joined the faculty at Utah State University in fall of 2012. Max Matzen is a Yamaha Performing Artist.