About Mat Campbell

Biography

Mathew “Mat” Aaron Campbell (b. 1992) started his musical journey at the age of eight when he took piano lessons followed by informal lessons on how to play drum set. His studies continued through middle school and high school with percussion as his primary instrument. 

Mathew is originally from the La Hermosa barrio in San Benito, a small town found in the Rio Grande Valley in Deep South Texas. Much of the population in this region is underprivileged and Mathew’s family was no exception. After learning how to make the most of limited resources, he has turned to using his unique, speech-impeded voice to uplift the work of other underrepresented Latinx artists and collaborators from the Rio Grande Valley.

He is an alumnus of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he earned his BM in Education as well as studied percussion and composition with Dr. Joe Moore III. Campbell graduated with High Honors from Oklahoma City University earning a double MM in Music Composition and Wind Conducting under the tutelage of Dr. Edward Knight and Dr. Matthew Mailman, respectively. He is a proud member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Society - Alpha Upsilon Chapter.

As an award-winning composer, Mat has collaborated with various educators and musicians throughout the nation. His passion for composing and conducting led to conducting world premieres with various student ensembles at the state and national levels. He has conducted his works at The National Flute Convention, ClarinetFest, and the Texas Music Educator’s Conference. His music has been celebrated by conductors and ensembles at various events in Los Angeles, Austin, Oklahoma City, the National Conference of Percussion Pedagogy, New Music on the Bayou, and at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. His music has been reviewed in journals such as Percussive Arts Society’s Percussive Notes and the International Clarinet Association’s The Clarinet. His music is self-published and available through C. Alan Publications.

His piece Into the Void: A Study in Disembodied Consciousness was awarded first prize in the SATB Chorus and Percussion (3-5 Players) Category of the 2015 Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest.

Mat is an aspiring media composer where he focuses on writing music primarily for video games and films of varying length. Notable projects include the Ari’s Journey Original Video Game Soundtrack available for streaming and purchasing on various platforms.

While forming a career as a composer and producer in both the concert and media music worlds, Mat is currently a Music Engraving and Audio/Video Specialist at C. Alan Publications and an Adjunct Professor of Music Production at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Short Biography for Programs →

Educator

Philosophy

Mathew’s philosophy on education builds upon the life lessons and experience he has learned from his teachers and professors. His philosophy is that:

“If the teacher only shows the students facts without justification, the student will only know facts.

If the teacher shows the student how to learn through justification and association, the student will be able to use these tools in their lifelong pursuit of knowledge.”

Classroom Experience

Mathew completed the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Office of Educator Preparation Accountability program in Fall 2016 under the mentoring of Mr. Guy McKinney (Secondary) and Mr. Roel Flores (Primary) at Mercedes ISD in Mercedes, Texas.

Mathew consulted with Weslaco ISD (Weslaco High School Cluster) in Spring 2017 under the leadership of Mr. Rodrigo Leal, Mr. Ernie Ortiz, and Mr. Art Hinojosa.

Mathew is certified by the Texas Education Agency to teach music in all levels (EC-12). He has been a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) since 2013.

Mathew is currently an Adjunct Professor of Music Production at The Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he teaches Introduction to Logic Pro to undergraduate students.

Conductor

Percussionist

Mathew Campbell has played percussion since the age of 8. He started playing drum set, then he started to learn concert percussion in sixth grade. He won many awards through middle school and high school at the regional and state levels.

Campbell has marched in marching band and indoor marching percussion ensembles. He has also performed in concert band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. He also has performed solos at the regional level at recitals and concerts. He has performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention as a member of the Rio Bravo Bass Ensemble in the 2015 Percussive Arts Society Marching Festival.

Campbell was a member of the Rio Bravo Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Joe Moore III during his time at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He performed at the Texas Music Educator’s Conference several times throughout his undergraduate studies. During his graduate studies, he was also a member of the Oklahoma City University Percussion Ensemble. Other notable percussion teachers of Mathew are Dr. Tom Nevill, Mr. David Lopez, Dr. Mark Eichenberger, and Prof. Patrick Womack.

More recently, Mathew has performed with ensembles in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area such as the Frontier Brass Band and the Oklahoma City Symphonic Band.