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[ click here to view Matt's full resume (pdf) ]
Matt's music stems from his fascination with nature and the sacred, often involving intense focus upon fragile or exposed sounds, the physical intimacy between performers and their instruments, and an appreciation of acoustic space and silence as musical material. Many of his works stem from an awareness of the environment, such as the use of pine sap drops as melodic material in his Soft Song (for solo cello) or the distant low drones of trains in Ghost Light Trio. The meditative and sanctuary-like atmosphere of his concerts and installation pieces have received a variety of critical acclaim – Kriston Capps of the Washington City Paper noted that “Sargent susses out compelling dynamics between the performer (as artist) and the instrument (as object)”, while photographer Colby Caldwell has described Matt’s installation works as “rigorous and beautiful.” Equally at home in art galleries, black box theatres, outdoor settings, and concert halls, his sound installations and performances have gained the attention of a wide range of audiences in the United States and Europe. Notable recent performances include the Warehouse gallery (Washington D.C.), An Die Musik (Baltimore, MD), Strand on Volta (Washington D.C.), The Chapel (Seattle, WA), Geneva Conservatory (Switzerland), Santa Caterina Cathedral (Alba, Italy), Brandeis University (Waltham, MA), Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), the Patricia Sitar Arts Center (Washington D.C.), River Concert Series “Cutting Edge” recital series (Washington D.C.), Millard Auditorium at the Hartt School of Music (West Hartford, CT), St. Mary’s College of Maryland (St. Mary’s City, MD), the White Room Theatre (St. Mary’s City, MD), and WHUH Radio (University of Hartford, 91.3 FM), Tangent Press Radio (KWCW at Whitman College in Washington State). His music has also been recently commissioned by the Alba (Italy) Music Festival (Riverbed Echo, to be performed by the St. Mary’s College Chamber Singers in 2008, and based on a text by poet Kaia Sand), as well as on two occasions by cellist Rachel Gawell (Soft Song (for solo cello), premiered in December 2006, and a forthcoming work for solo cello, to be premiered in 2008). In February 2008, the acclaimed Yale Brass Trio will premiered his new work, Evening Song, at the Hartt School. Matt frequently collaborates with musicians, writers, filmmakers, and visual artists. He cofounded the Hartford Sound Alliance, a CT-based new music collective of composers, performers, and installation artists, which presented three concerts and four sound installations at a residency at the Hartford Art School in March 2008. Among his contributions to this residency was a collaborative multimedia work for video (by Liz Stephens), text (by Matthew Hittinger), and live laptop performance (by Matt Sargent). He also recently completed a concert-length work for solo percussion, entitled Ghost Music, for Bill Solomon, which will be premiered in fall 2008. His ongoing collaboration and friendship with trumpeter Chris Kallmyer has produced several new works for brass, including 12 Stereos (for amplified trumpet and household stereos) and most recently, Soft Song (for trumpet, piano, and triangle). In addition to composing, Matt maintains an active teaching and performing schedule in the greater Hartford area as a guitarist (in solo classical, new music, and rock idioms), and music educator. He recently became the director of chorus and band at St. Paul's Catholic School in Bristol, CT. He is also currently a publishing assistant for Hog River Music in Hartford, CT. |
Matt Sargent is a composer and guitarist currently living and working in Hartford, CT. He recently graduated from the