ABOUT
Photo: Susan Kupferer
Photo: Leavitt Wells
Matthew has been doing sound both academically and professionally for over ten years. He got his start in California in high school by helping manage microphones for the school musical. By the time he graduated, Matthew was responsible for running and recording the school's various choir and band concerts every year and worked with regional dance companies by running sound for their annual performances.
While at Brigham Young University, Matthew designed or mixed several main stage productions, in addition to several other student projects both at BYU and at the neighboring university, Utah Valley University. Notable design credits include Mr. Helmer's Wife, an adaptation of A Doll's House by Mariah Eames and Rick Curtis; Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap (KCACTF Region VIII Sound Design finalist); Helen Edmunson's The Mill on the Floss (KCACTF Region VIII Sound Design nomination); Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller; and The Little Shop of Horror by Howard Ashman.
Favorite mixing credits while at BYU include the new musical Single Wide by George Nelson and Frank Wildhorn's musical Wonderland, in addition to working with the various ensembles at BYU. Matthew has also had the opportunity to tour across the country as the audio and video engineer for both the BYU Ballroom Dance Company and
the International Folk Dance Ensemble, for whom he mixed the Mountain Strings folk band, the musical group that provides live accompaniment for the dancers. He was also able to travel to China for a two-week tour with the show BYU China Spectacular as the lead projection engineer.
After graduating from BYU, Matthew moved to North Carolina to study at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, pursuing an M.F.A. in Sound Design. While at UNCSA, he worked on a wide variety of shows. He was an assistant recording and editing engineer for a radio play of Henry V; an editor and re-recording mixer for a filmed production of Lynn Nottage's Sweat; and sound designer for a production of Shakespeare's All's Well that Ends Well.
Outside of BYU, Matthew has had the pleasure of working with a variety of local companies and performing arts groups. In addition to freelance work for various concerts and festivals, he has enjoyed work at the Sundance Summer Theatre and with the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy, UT. He has worked at the Sundance Summer Theatre for three years in various capacities, including the mix engineer, assistant designer, and sound designer. For the Hale, Matthew was the drafter responsible for documenting the full audio, com, and CCTV systems for both spaces in the building, and more recently has been an assistant designer. He also designed a production of Sweeney Todd with Utah Repertory Theatre in the inaugural season of the new Noorda Center for the Performing Arts at Utah Valley University.
Photo: Lindsay Putnam
In the rare occasion that Matthew and his wife, Susan, have the same nights and weekends off, they enjoy their newfound passion for rock climbing in the mountains around Utah and exploring the plethora of national and state parks Utah has to offer. Or when snow falls, they are regularly found snowboarding at the local ski resort, making the most of the cold weather. Matthew is an ardent believer that In-N-Out is better than Five Guys but really doesn't care as long as it's paired with a Dr. Pepper.
Matthew is a student member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
Photo: Susan Kupferer