Matthew Pickart

Name:	Matthew Pickart
Location:	Pittsburgh United States 15201
Contact:	Send Matthew Pickart a message

Additional Info:

Violinist and violist Matt Pickart currently plays as principal viola of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with Johnstown Symphony Orchestra (principal viola 2010-2012,) Pittsburgh Opera, Wheeling Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Quantum Theatre, Latshaw Pops Orchestra, Attack Theater, Alia Musica, Children’s Festival Chorus, and the Bach Choir on violin and viola. Outside of Pittsburgh, Matt has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Duomo in Florence, recital halls in Germany, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands and has had his recordings aired on Milwaukee’s WMSE, Pittsburgh’s WQED, and National Russian Radio.
Most recently, Matt performed as guest concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Philharmonic, violist on tour with Barry Manilow and his orchestra, played Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante as viola soloist for Pittsburgh’s Ripieno Chamber Orchestra’s premiere performance, played as principal violist with the Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra, and was a featured recording artist for Pittsburgh based groups Broken Fences and the City Dwelling Nature Seekers on violin and viola for their 2012 albums. 2013 highlight performances include his tv premiere as the violist in NBC’s newest reality show “The Choir” in their premiere broadcast, playing violin with Ritmo Flamenco of Toronto, his Carnegie Hall debut in NYC playing Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence at Weill Recital Hall through Interharmony International Music Festival, and additional chamber music appearances in Toronto, Pittsburgh, New York City, and Madison, WI.
Matt completed his Master’s of Music Degree at Duquesne University in 2010 under the tutelage of world-renowned violinist and pedagogue Sidney Harth, former concertmaster of Chicago and Louisville Symphony Orchestras, and the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics. While at Duquesne, Matt served as co-concertmaster, principal second violin, and principal viola of the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra and as first violinist of the graduate string quartet on a full graduate assistantship. In the fall of 2009, he was selected as one of the winners of the school concerto competition and performed Zigeunerweisen with the Duquesne University Symphony Orchestra that December.
Prior to that, in 2007 Matt completed his Bachelor's of Music Degree in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he served as co-concertmaster of the UW Symphony Orchestra as well as concertmaster of the UW Contemporary Ensemble. While in Madison, he was coordinator and violinist of Lucido Felice String Quartet, which played hundreds of performances in the Southern Wisconsin and surrounding area during his time there.
Pickart's past violin teachers have included Tyrone Greive, Eugene Purdue, Alison Jewer, and Tom Moore. He studied viola with Marylène Gingras-Roy. He has performed in master classes for violinists Midori, Sherban Lupu, Christian House, and Felicia Moye, pianist Charles Abromovich, and composer Joan Tower. He has soloed with the Ripieno Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison All University Strings Orchestra, the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra, and the Soesterberg Interharmony International Music Festival Orchestra in Holland. Matt has performed in chamber music settings alongside grammy-nominated violinist Andrzej Grabiec, cellist Misha Quint, soprano Dorothy Stone, and members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as a featured performer in faculty recitals for Interharmony International Music Festival, Summer Music Clinic, and Pittsburgh Classical Revolution, among other performances.
Also at home in many “popular music” genres, Matt has recorded with and or performed with several bands in the Pittsburgh and Madison areas including: Mother Sun, Pale Young Gentlemen, Ben Shannon, New Victorians, City Dwelling Nature Seekers, Boulevard of the Allies, and Pupy Costello. He has performed on tour with bands in Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Rochester, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee; and has played at all the major venues in Pittsburgh and Madison, WI. He can be heard on 2010 CD releases of Mother Sun, City Dwelling Nature Seekers, and Ben Shannon’s 2011 album. He can also be heard on the 2012 releases of Broken Fences, New Victorians, The Wheals, and City Dwelling Nature Seekers. Matt currently plays jazz violin with Pittsburgh’s only hot club group, the Flying Dutchmen. He has also performed alongside jazz violin virtuosos Tracy Silverman and Billy Contreras and in the orchestras of Barry Manilow on tour, Bernadette Peters, and the Vogues.
Matt currently serves as a violin and viola instructor of Duquesne University’s City Music Center, general music teacher at Highland Park Preparatory Academy of Pittsburgh, a member of the violin faculty at UW-Madison's Summer Music Clinic, assistant to the director of Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany and Italy, and as a former adjunct faculty of violin and chamber music at Beloit College.

Additional Specialisms:

Orchestral Playing, Session Work, Solo Performance, Contemporary Music, Jazz, Improvisation