Once upon a time, there was a pretty little princess...

Oh wait.  Wrong story.

So, um, my name is Matt.  And this is my website. 

I've always been involved in the arts.  I started playing piano at the age of four when I asked my parents if I could start taking piano lessons, even though we didn't even own a piano.  They enrolled me in a special conservatory at the University of Utah for children.  (I even remember the name of my first teacher...Dianne Hardy.)  I studied piano for 12 years, at which point I realized that I had no desire to become a classical pianist, which is where my training was taking me.  I don't like practicing that much.

Music was the jumping off point of many of my future activities.  For instances, my sophomore year in high school, I was roped into helping a couple of friends do the lighting for a theatre show at the school.  Sitting in the light booth and watching the actors catterwaul on the stage, I thought, "Hey, I can sing better than that."  So I auditioned for theater, and fell in love with that process. 

Also during that time, I began to really fall in love with photography.  I got an old Minolta SLR camera and a couple of lenses from my dad, and I used to take them all over creation taking pictures.  I wasn't very good, but every now and again I got a decent shot by accident. 

After high school, I went to Brigham Young University to study musical theatre.  I took two years off to go on a religious mission, then came back and finished up my undergrad degree in 2003.  Five days later, I was performing at a theater and actually getting a paycheck.  For the next five years, I was always performing.  I did cruise ships, musicals, TV Episodes, a couple of independent films, commercials, voiceover work, studio work, etc.  I music directed a couple of shows, and produced a few albums.  And I also supplemented my meager income by taking actor's headshots.

In 2004, I joined the faculty at Brigham Young University for a couple of years as a voice teacher, and found that I really enjoyed teaching voice.  Or, to be more accurate, I really enjoyed teaching voice to those students who were talented and who worked hard.  I struggled with the lazy students or the ones who simply didn't have the talent.  I believe that anybody can learn to be a passable singer, but my passion was working with the truly talented ones.

In 2006, I left BYU and started working full time on a company that I had built with a friend that focused on building real-instrument soundtracks for theaters who can't use live orchestras.  It combined several things I really liked: musicals, theater, studio work, and being in charge.  However, it ended up being one of those cases where as soon as you have to start doing something, it stops being fun.  So, a year later, I relinquished my role with the company.

In 2007, it was time to take stock.  I had spent 4 years in the performing arts, and was lucky to pull in $30,000 a year.  I was working 80+ hours a week just to make that much money.  I had no money, no time, and no life.  (That last one still hasn't changed.)  And, worst of all, I wasn't enjoying the arts any longer.  To be a performer, you really have to love doing what you do.  Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to overcome the working conditions, instability, and lack of money .  So, after landing the lead role in Crazy for You and hating almost every minute of the process of being "the lead," I decided it was time to move on again.  I retired from performing.

Shortly thereafter, I moved to the Seattle area, and joined corporate America.  I've been working my office jobs for the last three years and, while it's not my passion, it pays the bills.   Don't knock being able to pay the bills.  I went back to school in 2007 and, in 2009, graduated with my MBA in Project Management.   In 2009, I also started an Audiobook Production Company focusing on producing audiobooks for self-publishing authors and independent publishing houses.

These days, I live in Redmond, Washington, right on the shore of a beautiful lake.  For a day job, I work at Microsoft.  I run Open Book Audio and do occasional audiobook narration or voiceover work from my studio.  I love to cook, to walk around the beautiful area, snap pictures, watch TV, play video games, and enjoy the quiet life of living out in "the country."

Now that I'm done with school, have a job, am making enough money to actually pay my bills, and have some time in my life to actually enjoy life, I'm finally in a good mental state of mind to start working on my music, photography, audiobooks, voiceover work, cooking, playing with my dog, and anything else that I want to do.  My philosophy has changed somewhat and, now that I no longer desperately need the money that my artistic pursuits require, I've decided that I'm going to be a little more lax with the way I handle the rights to my intellectual property.  Most of the sheet music, recorded music, and photography on this website will be released under Creative Commons license.  What that means is that most of the work will be available to be used freely for non-commercial purposes...the only stipulation being that if you share my content, or somehow alter my content to make some derivative work, you have to credit me. 

Have questions?  Want to know more?  Visit the Contact Page.