“With a tone and approach entrancing from the outset,” (New York Concert Review, Inc.) Matthew Figel is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studies with Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers. The first musician in his family, Matthew began his piano studies at age ten in Midland, Texas, making his recital debut that same year. Since then, he has performed extensively throughout North America and Europe, in venues such as the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall.
Matthew was named a fellow at the 2022 Gilmore Piano Festival and made recent summer concert appearances at the Southeastern Piano Festival in Columbia and the Arts at Messiah Summer Concert Series. His successes in competitions have included top prizes in the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition and the Harold Protsman Classical Period Competition. He was also named a finalist and awarded sixth prize at the 2022 International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition, where he performed with the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra in Leipzig.
Eager to specialize in 18th and early 19th-century repertoire, Matthew has studied harpsichord and fortepiano with Eduardo Bellotti and Lisa Goode Crawford in addition to lessons in historical performance practice under Paul O’Dette. Additionally, he attended the inaugural Forte / Piano Academy held at the Cornell Institute for Historic Keyboards, where he studied with Mike Cheng-Yu Lee and Malcolm Bilson. Recently, he performed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History as part of a recital presenting the complete Piano Trios of Ludwig van Beethoven as part of the Beethoven Trio Academy coached by Kenneth Slowik, Mike Cheng-Yu Lee, David Breitman, and Vera Beths.
Matthew received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Applied Music and Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music as well, previously studying with Nelita True. Here, Matthew was admitted into the music honor society, Pi Kappa Lambda, in addition to graduating with Highest Distinction and receiving the Anne T. Cummins Prize in Humanities. While in his sophomore year, Matthew was named winner of the Eastman Concerto Competition, becoming one of the youngest students to solo with the Eastman Philharmonia in the school’s 100-year history.
Matthew has performed in masterclasses instructed by Richard Goode, Simone Dinnerstein, Paul Lewis, Pascal Rogé, Hung-Kuan Chen, Emanuel Ax, and Lori Sims. He also recently participated in Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series, where he performed in a Mozart Piano Concerto masterclass presented by Mitsuko Uchida. A past fellow at PianoFest in the Hamptons and PianoTexas International Festival and Academy, he has also attended summer festivals such as the Sarasota Music Festival, Gijón International Piano Festival and the Aspen School of Music.
He is also an avid collaborative pianist, performing in masterclasses for artists such as Renée Fleming and Jon Nakamatsu while receiving coachings from the Ying Quartet, Steven Doane, and Natalya Antonova. While at Eastman, he received the John Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music and the Verdehr Trio Award at the Commencement ceremony to recognize his commitment to chamber music.
An alumnus of Interlochen Arts Academy, he was chosen as the school’s first-ever Senior Performer, an honor given to a student to represent the graduating class with a solo performance at the final Commencement ceremony. His teachers here included Thomas Lymenstull and Michael Coonrod, following Matthew’s studies with Mark Puckett.
An enthusiastic teacher, Matthew currently teaches secondary lessons at Eastman and has received the Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Matthew previously served as the Artist-in-Residence at Valley Manor Living Center, where he performed monthly recitals for the senior community of Rochester, New York, and continues to actively perform outreach concerts at retirement homes and community centers.