Matthew Geiger, D.M.A.

About Matthew

A champion of both new and canonic percussive works, Matthew Geiger is an accomplished teacher, researcher, and performer with experience in the study and performance of orchestral percussion, solo and chamber repertoire, timpani, drum set, and world music. In the fall of 2024, he will be the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Kentucky. Currently, Geiger is the Coordinator of percussion studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Geiger 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. Geiger 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 Award-nominated recording of Darius Milhaud's "L'Orestie, d’Eschyle."

Geiger completed dual undergraduate degrees in music performance and mathematics at the University of Kentucky, completed his master’s degree in percussion performance at the University of Michigan, and then returned to the University of Kentucky for his D.M.A. in percussion. His principal teachers include James B. Campbell, Joseph Gramley, Jonathan Ovalle, Michael Gould, Paul Berns, and Chad Kohler. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and educational artist for Zildjian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion, and Black Swamp Percussion.