Matt Shevrin (b. 1963)
He began studying the French horn at the University of Michigan School of Music. It was at Michigan where he found an old analog delay box called an Echoplex, a tape loop device invented by Les Paul. He experimented with playing with digital technology after transferring to the USC School of Music, where he studied with James Decker and learned synthesizer techniques and participated in the jazz program. His bachelor’s degree recital included a commissioned piece for digitally enhanced horn with taped synthesizer and drums. As a graduate student at the University of Oregon School of Music, he continued to explore jazz, new age and electronically enhanced improvisation. He also composed several arrangements and compositions in jazz and New Age styles. This led to the production of a full length recording of original composed and/or arranged music for horn, “The Cusp of Aries”. It includes Indian-influenced music with tabla, sacred Jewish material including the use of a shofar, and improvisation throughout.
He placed second in the Danville Horn Symphony Orchestra Horn Competition in Walnut Creek, CA. He was commissioned to compose a piece for the Univ. of Northern Iowa horn choir. “Evocations” is based on Tibetan Buddhist chants and their long horn drones. In 2005, he won a solo competition sponsored by the Life Sciences Orchestra, which is associated with the University of Michigan Gift of the Arts Program. His compositions and arrangements have been featured at numerous horn workshops and on this website.
He's maintained an active freelance career in classical, jazz and non-traditional performance venues. He currently performs with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared with the Northwest Swing Band, and in jazz combos at such venues as Couth Buzzard Cafe, the Royal Room and North City Bistro. He also was a regional soloist at the 2018 and 2023 Northwest Horn Symposia.
Influences: John Clark, Tom Varner, Arkady Shilkloper, Jeffrey Agrell, Ken Wiley, Vincent Chauncey, many other jazz horn players, Cuong Vu, Miles Davis, Mark Isham, Kenny Wheeler, Freddie Hubbard, John Faddis, Wayne Shorter, George Lewis, Jaco Pastorius, Pat Methany, Ralph Towner, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Sarah Vaughan, Eddie Daniels, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Ellington, Ravi Shankar, David Brooks, Jack De Jeanette, Alec Wilder.
He began studying the French horn at the University of Michigan School of Music. It was at Michigan where he found an old analog delay box called an Echoplex, a tape loop device invented by Les Paul. He experimented with playing with digital technology after transferring to the USC School of Music, where he studied with James Decker and learned synthesizer techniques and participated in the jazz program. His bachelor’s degree recital included a commissioned piece for digitally enhanced horn with taped synthesizer and drums. As a graduate student at the University of Oregon School of Music, he continued to explore jazz, new age and electronically enhanced improvisation. He also composed several arrangements and compositions in jazz and New Age styles. This led to the production of a full length recording of original composed and/or arranged music for horn, “The Cusp of Aries”. It includes Indian-influenced music with tabla, sacred Jewish material including the use of a shofar, and improvisation throughout.
He placed second in the Danville Horn Symphony Orchestra Horn Competition in Walnut Creek, CA. He was commissioned to compose a piece for the Univ. of Northern Iowa horn choir. “Evocations” is based on Tibetan Buddhist chants and their long horn drones. In 2005, he won a solo competition sponsored by the Life Sciences Orchestra, which is associated with the University of Michigan Gift of the Arts Program. His compositions and arrangements have been featured at numerous horn workshops and on this website.
He's maintained an active freelance career in classical, jazz and non-traditional performance venues. He currently performs with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared with the Northwest Swing Band, and in jazz combos at such venues as Couth Buzzard Cafe, the Royal Room and North City Bistro. He also was a regional soloist at the 2018 and 2023 Northwest Horn Symposia.
Influences: John Clark, Tom Varner, Arkady Shilkloper, Jeffrey Agrell, Ken Wiley, Vincent Chauncey, many other jazz horn players, Cuong Vu, Miles Davis, Mark Isham, Kenny Wheeler, Freddie Hubbard, John Faddis, Wayne Shorter, George Lewis, Jaco Pastorius, Pat Methany, Ralph Towner, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Sarah Vaughan, Eddie Daniels, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Ellington, Ravi Shankar, David Brooks, Jack De Jeanette, Alec Wilder.