Matt McClung
Principal Percussion
When you meet Matt, ask him… Has he read any interesting books lately? Does he prefer to sing karaoke in a group or solo? What is his favorite TV theme song?
Bio
Equally at home in orchestral, solo, and chamber music roles, Dr. Matthew McClung has appeared with a wide variety of prestigious ensembles throughout the United States. Recent engagements include guest principal percussionist with the Phoenix Symphony and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed with the Houston Grand Opera, the Hawaii Opera Theater, the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, and ROCO, plus the symphony orchestras of Arkansas, Austin, Corpus Christi, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Houston, Kentucky, Lexington, Maui, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Victoria. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Alisa Weilerstein, the Percussion Group Cincinnati, So Percussion, Elemental Percussion, Strike 3 Percussion, Musiqa, and many others. He is also a founding member of Drumpetello, a unique trio comprised of percussion, trumpet, and cello.
A dedicated proponent of new music, Matthew has commissioned or premiered works by David Lang, John Luther Adams, James Stephenson, Martin Bresnick, Thomas Osborne, Paul Lansky, and Lauren Bernofsky, among others. As a winner of a Presser award, he studied with the Master Drummers of the Ewe tribe in Ghana, West Africa.
Matthew holds an engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Music degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is also the recipient of the first Doctoral degree ever awarded in percussion performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Currently, Dr. McClung serves as an Associate Professor of Music at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and the principal percussionist of both ROCO and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival.
“…the exhilarating athleticism of Matthew McClung’s performance … made (this) the biggest crowd-pleaser of this musically rewarding afternoon.”
-Salt Lake Tribune
“McClung played stylishly and smartly … The performance sang with a distinctive joie de vivre.”
-Houston Chronicle
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ROCO’s Seventh Season was “a fusion of cultures and generations.” The Season Opener featured Guest Conductor, Mei-Ann Chen, conducting Aaron Jay Kernis’s Too Hot Toccata, featuring percussionist, Matt McClung. Performed at The Church of St. John the Divine on October 22, 2011.
