2025 Guest Soloist and Featured Clinician
2019 Vibraphone Master Class
Utilizing an eclectic musical approach, award-winning percussionist Dr. Matthew Geiger continues to champion both new and canonic percussive works through teaching, performance, and research. His experience includes both the study and performance of orchestral percussion, solo and chamber repertoire, timpani, drum set, and world music. Currently, Matthew is the director of percussion studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Prior to UK, he held appointments at East Tennessee State University and Morehead State University. His recent performances have focused on solo vibraphone, both in the jazz idiom as well as contemporary twentieth-century repertoire. Along with recent international performances in Spain, Sweden, and China, he performed a vibraphone concerto with Science Hill High School at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in 2018 and was named the winner of the 2013 International Solo Vibraphone Competition by the Percussive Arts Society.
Matthew embraces a comprehensive approach to percussion through collaborations, including performance tours with both Aleph and BlueSHIFT Percussion Quartets and serving as Principal Percussion with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and Symphony of the Mountains. A former performing member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, he also has served as an instructor for DCI World Class finalists, The Cadets and The Academy. Matthew has premiered pieces by many distinguished composers, including: Christopher Adler, Juri Seo, Anders Åstrand, Glenn Kotche, Brian Nozny, Roger Zare, and Ben Wahlund. He has recorded for the Naxos and Mark Records label, including performing as percussionist and timpanist on the Grammy nominated recording of Darius Milhaud’s “L’Orestie, d’Eschyle”.
An active member in the Percussive Arts Society, Matthew serves in many capacities for the organization. He was the President of the Tennessee chapter after serving as Vice-President of both the Tennessee and Kentucky chapters. In 2023, he and his university ensemble were invited to present the “New Literature Showcase Concert” at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) after winning the concert chamber percussion ensemble competition the year prior. Matthew has also presented numerous clinics and fundamental sessions at various PASICs, including “Tangible Goals of Higher Education,” “Integrating Technology in the Rehearsal Room,” “Vibraphone FUNdamentals,” and “Passing the Pre-Screening.” Matthew also serves on the Percussion Ensemble committee after previously serving on the World Percussion Committee dedicated to bringing more diverse musical experiences to students and professionals. Along with multiple chamber performances at PASIC, Matthew was asked in 2011 and 2014 to perform and conduct with the University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble at the PASIC International Percussion Ensemble Competition Showcase Concert.
Matthew received his Doctor of Musical Arts along with dual Bachelor’s degrees in Music Performance and Mathematics – along with a Spanish minor — at the University of Kentucky. He received his Master’s degree in percussion performance at the University of Michigan. His principal teachers include James B. Campbell, Joseph Gramley, Jonathan Ovalle, Michael Gould, Paul Berns, and Chad Kohler. Matthew Geiger is a Yamaha Performing Artist and educational artist for Zildjian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion, and Black Swamp Percussion.