Matthew Whitaker
“The fleetness of finger, the touch and taste, the grit and grime when he needs it, the lightness and airiness when it’s called upon - Whitaker has it all.””
“Matthew Whitaker is music. To see and hear him play is to know that divine talent exists. Beyond his innate musical abilities is a sheer joy and passion to create music.” ”
Matthew Whitaker is a Grammy Award®–winning multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and arranger, and an Emmy and NAACP Image Award nominee.
His passion for music was sparked at the age of three, when his grandfather gifted him a keyboard. Over the years, his artistry has reached audiences around the world, with appearances on major television programs including Showtime at the Apollo, The Today Show, Ellen, and 60 Minutes. A multifaceted artist, Matthew, has also made his mark in film and television, starring in, producing, and scoring the Emmy-nominated All-Arts documentary About Tomorrow. He composed the score for the film Starkeisha, now streaming on Hulu, and contributed to the Emmy-winning Apple TV commercial The Greatest. In 2023, he made his debut as musical director for the award-winning musical Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, which premiered in Pittsburgh.
Matthew’s work as a performer and collaborator spans a wide range of stages and ensembles. He has appeared as a guest soloist with leading orchestras, including the Aspen Chamber Symphony under Marin Alsop and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, led by Alexander Shelley. His compositions have been performed internationally, including a work for the 82-piece Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra in Sofia featured in About Tomorrow. For Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 2024–2025 season, he created the score Finding Free, choreographed by Hope Boykin, which premiered in New York City and tours nationally. He has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Jon Batiste, Christian McBride, Derrick Hodge, Bootsy Collins, Ray Chew, NEA Jazz Master Regina Carter, and Anderson .Paak, and performed at the 2024 Paralympics Handover Ceremony.
A 2026 Grammy Award winner, Matthew was recognized for his work as an arranger on “Super Mario Praise Break” with the 8-Bit Big Band; the album was also nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble. He is a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award and has released four studio albums: Outta The Box, Now Hear This, Connections, and On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute (2024), the latter earning a nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards.
A graduate of The Juilliard School and a product of public education, Matthew is deeply committed to the power of music to connect people and to ensuring that every child has access to music education. When not touring, he invests in the next generation of musicians as Artist in Residence at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he teaches piano, music theory, jazz ensembles, and choirs. He is also an advocate for people with disabilities, consulting with companies to help improve accessibility.
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