Matt Browne

University of Michigan
Composer
New York, USA
String Quartet Smackdown III

New York-based composer Matt Browne (b. 1988) strives to create music that meets Sergei Diaghilev’s famous challenge to Jean Cocteau: “Astonish me!”, through incorporating such eclectic influences as the timbral imagination and playfulness of György Ligeti, the shocking and humorous eclecticism of Alfred Schnittke, and the relentless rhythmic energy of Igor Stravinsky. His music has been praised for its “unbridled humor” (New Music Box) and de-scribed as “witty” (The Strad) and “beautifully crafted and considered” (What’s On Lon-don). Matt has had the honor to collaborate with such ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, PRISM Quartet, Albany Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, and PUBLIQuartet. His music has received honors such as winner of the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize (2017), an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers award (2014), and a BMI Student Composer award (2015).

He received his DMA from the University of Michigan. Previous teachers include Michael Daugherty and Kristin Kuster.