Biography

Saxophonist, composer, curator, producer/engineer, arts consultant, and educator Matthew Levy has made an enduring contribution to contemporary music as co-founder and director of the world-renowned PRISM Quartet, and as a collaborator with other artists and ensembles for the past 35 years.

Praised by the Saxophone Journal as “a complete virtuoso of the tenor saxophone” and by Classical Magazine for “gorgeous and ethereal” compositions, his creative work has been supported by fellowships from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the Independence Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA, the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum, the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, and the Presser Foundation.

Matt holds three degrees from the University of Michigan, where he was a James B. Angell Scholar and recipient of the Lawrence Teal Award. His teachers have included saxophonists Donald Sinta, Laura Hunter, Odean Pope, James Forger, and Charles Salinger; music theorists Ellwood Derr, William Rothstein, and Robert Hatten; and composers William Albright, William Bolcom, Frank Ticheli, Fred Lerdahl, and Italo Taranta.

As a solo artist, Matt has commissioned and premiered works by many composers, including Paola Prestini, Renee Favand, Emma O’Halloran, Jacob Walls, Erin Busch, and David Ludwig; collaborated with a host of choreographers and dance companies, among them Peter Sparling, Scrap Performance Group, and Group Motion Dance Theater; and appeared as a guest artist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Network for New Music (core member), counter)induction, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, and Dolce Suono Ensemble. He has worked with concert pianists Steve Beck, Matt Herskowitz, Charles Ambramovic, and Robert Conway, and jazz artists Greg Osby, Franck Amsallem, Ben Monder, Matt Wilson, Gerald Cleaver, and John Riley. Matt has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, Naxos, Grammavision, Innova, Albany, and Tdzaik.

Matt’s compositional output has included works for orchestra, choir, musical theater, dance, jazz, and electronic music ensembles. He has scored four motion pictures, including PBS’s “Diary of a City Priest” (starring David Morse), featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Matt has composed extensively for the PRISM Quartet; whose performances of his music have been broadcast by NPR, CBC, and Voice of America, and are featured on PRISM’s self-titled debut CD (1993, Koch International), as well as Real Standard Time (2000, innova), Dedication (2011, innova), and People’s Emergency Center (2014, innova). People’s Emergency Center, which features guest jazz artists Jason Moran, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tim Ries, Ben Monder, Jay Anderson, and Bill Stewart, was described by PopMatters as “9 Stars, Best Jazz of 2014…too big to fail” and by WRTI as “magic with swirling precision.”

Matt’s work as Executive and Co-Artistic Director of the PRISM Quartet has culminated in USIA and USArtists International tours of China, Russia, and Latin America; concerto appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra and Dallas Symphony; recital performances on Carnegie Hall’s Making Music Series and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; residencies with composition departments at the Curtis Institute and Princeton University; and the release of more than 30 recordings on ECM, Albany, BCM+D, innova, Koch, Naxos, New Dynamic, New Focus, Orange Mountain, and PRISM’s own XAS label, which he founded in 2016. The Fifth Century, PRISM’s ECM recording with The Crossing under Donald Nally, was awarded a 2018 Grammy for Best Choral Performance.

In its early days, PRISM was a prize-winner in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, appeared on “Entertainment Tonight” and NPR’s “Performance Today,” and was named by Musical America as “Outstanding Young Artists.” Subsequently, PRISM was a two-time winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

Champions of new music, PRISM has commissioned more than 300 works, many from winners of the Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur “Genius” Award, Rome Prize, Koussevitzky Foundation Commissioning Award, Doris Duke Artist Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, and other major awards. Commissioned composers have included William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Zhou Long, Miguel Zenon, Jennifer Higdon, Steven Mackey, Ken Ueno, Martin Bresnick, Chen Yi, Bernard Rands, Tyshawn Sorey, Susie Ibarra, and Steve Lehman. PRISM’s collaborators are a who’s who of contemporary music-makers, and include Ethel, Talujon, So, Partch, Music From China, Cantori New York, The Crossing, the New York Consort of Viols, Opera Colorado, Inti-Illimani, Nick Didkovsky, Miro Dance Theatre, Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, and top jazz artists, including Dave Liebman, Chris Potter, Ravi Coltrane, Joe Lovano, and Melisssa Aldana.

Matt has worked as a music instructor for much of his career. He currently teaches saxophone at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania’s College House program. Matt previously served on faculties of the universities of Redlands, Michigan, and Toledo, and Settlement Music School. He was also a guest speaker and mentor for the Curtis Institute of Music’s Community Artist Program (CAP), which provides gifted students with the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Matt’s professional life continues to span a range of cultural interests and disciplines. He maintains a recording studio and an arts consulting practice, which has included work with The Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at the University of the Arts, Ars Nova Workshop and Sruti, The India Music & Dance Society. From 2000–2011, he directed the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, where he oversaw the program’s grant-making, edited its annual magazine, led professional development field trips, and curated seminars, symposia, and book lectures.

Matt is a member of the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy, and plays Selmer saxophones and mouthpieces exclusively. He lives in the Germantown section of Philadelphia with his wife, Willa, and daughter, Mae Priscilla. They don’t have any pets to speak of.

SHORT BIO

Saxophonist, composer, curator, producer/engineer, and educator Matthew Levy has made an enduring contribution to contemporary music as co-founder and executive director of the world-renowned PRISM Quartet, and as a collaborator with other artists and ensembles for more than 35 years. Matt has been hailed by The Saxophone Journal as “a complete virtuoso of the tenor saxophone” and by The New York Times for his “energetic and enlivening” performances. He is the recipient of a 2016 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, as well as composition fellowships from the Independence Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has scored four motion pictures, including PBS’s Diary of a City Priest, featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Matt has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, Naxos, Grammavision, Innova, Koch, Albany, BMOP/Sound, Tdzaik, New Dynamic, New Focus, BCM+D, and XAS. His music is highlighted on four PRISM recordings, including People’s Emergency Center (Best Jazz of 2014, PopMatters). Matt has premiered solo works by Emma O’Halloran, Paola Prestini, Renee Favand, Jacob Walls, Erin Busch, and David Ludwig; collaborated with a host of choreographers and dance companies, among them Peter Sparling, Scrap Performance Group, and Group Motion Dance Theater; is a member of the Network for New Music Ensemble and appeared as a guest artist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Dolce Suono Ensemble, and counter)induction. His work with PRISM has included tours of China, Russia, and Latin America; concerto appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra; and recital performances presented by Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He serves on the faculty of Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance, is a member of the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy, and performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones.