Bio

Revered as “a very talented and passionate musician,” trumpeter Matt Harper is enthusiastic about exploring a wide variety of genres from time periods ranging from the early baroque period to contemporary music. Matt has had the pleasure of performing with the McKinney Philharmonic, Sherman Symphony, New World Symphony, Austin Opera, and at the Victoria Bach Festival. Matt’s performing career has taken him all across the United States and Europe with ensembles ranging from chamber groups, British-style brass bands, wind ensembles, and orchestras.

Matt was selected to attend the Aspen Music Festival in 2017 and was awarded a fellowship to attend in 2018. He participated in the Orpheus@Mannes chamber orchestra intensive in 2019 as well as the U.S. Air Force Band Symposium in 2015. During his undergraduate studies, Matt was heavily involved in the school’s British-style brass band where he performed with the group for five years, serving as principal cornet for three years. While performing with the band at the North American Brass Band Association Championship, Matt competed in the Adult Technical Solo Competition where he received first place in 2015 and second place in 2016. 

During his master’s degree, Matt developed his enthusiasm for mental preparation when he researched topics such as techniques used by professional athletes and the use of visualization and meditation. He has written several papers on the topic and is committed to further studying the subject and sharing his findings with others.

Matt currently lives in Dallas, Texas where he is an active freelancer and maintains a large private studio of both beginner and advanced students throughout the north Texas area. Matt is a graduate of James Madison University and The University of Texas at Austin and he has studied with Ray Sasaki, David Krauss, Raymond Mase, Wiff Rudd, Kevin Cobb, Marc Reese, Dr. Chris Carrillo, Dr. Aaron Witek, and Christian Hinkle. When Matt is not playing or teaching, he enjoys reading, hiking, playing sports, following his favorite teams, and spending time with his partner, Ben.