BIO
Music School Administrator
In 2009 I was given the opportunity to return to my alma mater as Associate Dean of Admissions. In 2015 my duties expanded to include oversight of admissions, financial aid, and the Registrar, as Associate Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management, and in January 2023, I became the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. It means a great deal to me to work at the school that contributed so profoundly to my development as a 'thinking musician' and prepared me for the multi-faceted career I've enjoyed since.
Before entering the world of music school administration, I served on the faculties of Bowling Green State University, Nazareth College, and the Eastman Community Music School, and served as Executive Director of Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates. I joined the admissions team at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in 2006, beginning as a counselor, then as assistant director until leaving for Eastman in 2009. From 2015-1017, I had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Independent Consortium for College Admissions in Music (ICCAM).
I've presented on issues related to recruitment and enrollment management at the Eastman Leadership Conference (annually), and at the annual meeting of NASM (National Assoc. of Schools of Music) with my mentor and colleague, Laura Hoffman (dean of enrollment at University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance).
Photo by Michelle Martorell
Since becoming the first guitarist to complete the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, Matthew Ardizzone has been engaged in a multi-faceted musical career, both on the stage and off.
The Pittsburgh Tribune has described his “sensitive nuances” and the NYC Guitar Society his “incredible tone, marvelous technical facility, and poetic phrasing.” He has performed across North America, including New York, Montréal, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and made his orchestral debut in 2005 performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra (IN). More recently he has performed throughout the Northeast and in Puerto Rico, where he was guest soloist with the Cornell Symphony and the Orquesta Sinfonica del Conservatorio de Musica de P.R., performing Roberto Sierra's Folias for guitar and orchestra.
Festival appearances include Brave New Works, the Eastman GuitarFest, the Mid-America Center for Contemporary Music, June in Buffalo, GuitarHouston, and the Ithaca College Winter Guitar Festival. His performances of new music have earned him the praise of composers such as John Anthony Lennon, Paul Lansky, Andrew Simpson, Robert Beaser, and Leslie Bassett.
His many collaborative performances include concerts with flutist Leone Buyse, violinists Movses Pogossian and Yehonatan Berick, saxophonist Matthew Sintchak, and soprano Audrey Luna. In 2016, he formed the Gibbs St. Guitar Duo with his long-time friend and Eastman colleague, Petar Kodzas.
Matthew's solo CD, “Mazurka!” won a Communicator Crystal Award of Excellence. Other awards include First Prize in the 1995 Rantucci Guitar Competition and fifth place in the 1997 Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition in Malibu. He has been on the faculties of Bowling Green State University, Nazareth College of Rochester, and the Eastman Community Music School.
At Eastman, he studied with Nicholas Goluses and took courses in Baroque performance with Paul O’Dette. Prior to attending Eastman, he studied with Edward Flower at Ithaca College. He's performed in master classes for the Assad Brothers and Manuel Barrueco, and has also worked with Eliot Fisk (Norfolk Chamber Music Festival) and Angel Romero (one unforgettable lesson in 2006).
He credits his first teachers for stoking his passion for guitar, especially Rick Lindberg, who fostered an early trajectory away from the violin, toward rock guitar, and ultimately toward classical guitar. Along the way, Rich Falco did his best to teach him jazz and Peter Clemente whipped him into shape for his college auditions on the classical guitar.
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Photo by Mark Gjukich
TEACHING
Online lessons available through PlayWithAPro
Though my day job in admissions at one of the world's premier music schools does keep me busy, I will be returning to teaching again this fall, focusing on private online lessons for adult students. I taught my first adult students through Eastman's Community Music School as a graduate student in the mid-90s, have been on the faculties of Nazareth College and Bowling Green State University, and have taught master classes at numerous other schools (see Resume). My teaching is aimed at helping my students keep connected to the original spark that first attracted them to the classical guitar while nurturing a strong technical foundation and healthy practice habits. For more information, contact me or visit: https://www.playwithapro.com/live/Matthew-Ardizzone/
Mazurka! solo guitar CD
Duo Forza, with Movses Pogossian, violin
Mazurka Collection (19th century mazurkas for guitar)
Artist page on Facebook
YouTube channel
Sound files on SoundCloud
EDUCATION & JOBS
Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
2023-present
Associate Dean of Graduate Studies
Eastman School of Music
University of Rochester
2009 - 2022
Associate Dean of Admissions since 2009
Associate Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management since 2015
D.M.A. in Performance & Literature, Guitar, 1997
Performer's Certificate, 1997
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
2006-2009
Assistant Director of Admissions
Bowling Green State University, College of Musical Arts
2001-2006
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Guitar
Nazareth College
1992-2001
Lecturer of Music/Guitar Instructor
Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates
2002-2006
Executive Director
Ithaca College
1991-1993
BM and MM in Music Performance, guitar
