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Rick VanMatre is
a saxophonist, clarinetist, conductor, and Director of Jazz Studies at the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has recorded
as a jazz saxophone soloist with the PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, the
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Latin X-Posure, and the CCM Faculty Jazztet,
and performed with such artists as John McNeil, Bobby Shew, Gene
Bertoncini, Tim Hagans, Rosemary Clooney, the Duke Ellington Orchestra
led by Mercer Ellington, and the Woody Herman Orchestra, directed by
Frank Tiberi. He has played with the Rochester Philharmonic and the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and as a concerto soloist with the
Illinois Philharmonic, the Middletown Symphony Orchestra, and the CCM
Wind Symphony, including the premiere of Concerto for Soprano Saxophone
and Wind Ensemble by Gerhard Samuel. In reviewing the Chicago premiere
of John Williams' Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, the Star
(Chicago Tribune Regional Newspaper) wrote that "VanMatre's art is
without comparison; his technique exact, yet smooth, his expression
poignant and personal."
Other
concerts have included such varied venues as the Nancy Jazz Festival in
France, the Jazz at Old Town Series in Warsaw, Poland, the Jerusalem
3000 Recital at the El-Dan Forum in Israel, contemporary Latin music
performances with Roland Vazquez, and multimedia presentations entitled
"Earthkind-Humankind" featuring music, poetry, dance, and art. Mr.
VanMatre has been called a "superb instrumentalist" by the Cincinnati
Enquirer, and a "reed titan" by Midwest Jazz
magazine.
As
conductor of the CCM Jazz Ensemble, Mr. VanMatre has directed programs
for American Jazz Radio Festival, National Public Radio, and produced
three CD recordings for Alissa Records and Sea Breeze Records. Serenade
in Blue was described by Cadence as a "necessary part of any big-band
enthusiast's library" and Jazz News praised Carnival of Life as being
"performed with conspicuous elegance and precision." He has also
conducted concerts for artists like Joe Henderson, Slide Hampton, David
Liebman, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Curtis Fuller, and Ahmad
Jamal.
In the
field of broadcasting, he served as the on-air host and interviewer for
the nationally syndicated radio series "Jazz - Live From the Hyatt."
featuring artists such as Joe Lovano, Michel Camilo, James Williams,
Houston Person, Etta Jones, Red Rodney, Othello Molineaux, David
Darling, Michael Wolff, and John Clayton. Mr. VanMatre has presented
performances and lectures for the International Association for Jazz
Education, Music Educators National Conference, the North American
Saxophone Alliance, the World Saxophone Congress, and has written for
Saxophone Journal. He is a regular faculty member of the Jamey Aebersold
Summer Jazz Clinics and has taught at the International Summer Jazz
Academy in Warsaw, Poland. He was the president of the Ohio Unit of the
National Association of Jazz Educators from 1987-89. Mr. VanMatre has
been named "Best Jazz Musician" by Cincinnati Magazine, Ohio Jazz
Educator of the Year by NAJE, and the "Ernest N. Glover Outstanding
Teacher" by CCM students.
