Matt Twaddle

Growing up in a musical family, Matt developed an interest for music at a very early age. His mother being a music educator, Matt began taking piano lessons at the age of 4. His affinity for music continued to grow throughout his childhood when he started working alongside his father, who owned a professional live sound company; it was from then onward where he was exposed to and met a lot of locally as well as nationally recognized musicians who inspired him to pursue music on his own. Around the age of 10, Matt developed a fascination with learning other instruments and began to pick up the guitar and french horn, as well as the bass and drums a few years later. Matt chose to stick with piano as his primary instrument however, when he went on to study jazz piano at the University of Massachusetts Amherst under the instruction of renowned jazz artists and educators Jeffrey Holmes and James Argiro.

While attending UMass, he had the privilege of performing with the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra with guest conductor/vibraphonist Warren Wolf, where he had the opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In addition, he was a recipient of several Downbeat student awards to include the 2019 Downbeat Student Award for best Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist. Upon graduation from UMass, Matt enlisted in the U.S. Army to become an Army Bandsmen, serving as a member of and pianist for the Maneuver Center of Excellence Band at Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia. During his time at Fort Moore, Matt had the opportunity to perform as a solo pianist for the Commanding General and other high esteemed officers and enlisted members on Fort Moore, Fort Novosel and several other Army posts. He also led the Turning Blues Jazz Combo and served as a staff arranger for the band. Matt completed his active duty service in October of 2023, relocating to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his music career.

Since moving to Nashville, Matt has performed with a wide variety of successful and award winning artists to include Jeff Coffin, Sofia Goodman, Liz Kelley, The Downtown Band and many others. Additionally, Matt has also released 3 solo albums of original music under his name. In addition to his performing, composition/arranging and recording experience, Matt also has 7+ years of teaching experience in both private instruction and small group settings.

His passion for teaching and sharing his love for music runs deep, and he aims to inspire his students and others around him to keep the tradition alive and thriving for future generations.