I’m including three pictures in this post of congratulations and thanks. They point to three different moments from my time at Brown and each symbolizes something for which I am eternally grateful to Matt. The first picture is about opportunity. It was taken less than a month into my freshman year and is from a soundcheck for the Brown Latin Jazz and Pop festival, where the Brown Jazz Band had…
We once had a man named McGarrell Wry humor he’d carry in barrels. We love Portuguese toast, but instead we’ll miss most his advice or his head-worn apparel. Love, Elrod T. Snidley, ’69
Dear Matt, The Brown Band was one of my best memories of college, I always thought of you as the stable center of the maelstrom though all our shenanigans. When I switched from clarinet to sousaphone in my second year, I appreciated your careful attention and mentoring of low brass all the more. When I came back years later for commencement band, I was always so oddly comforted by your…
Dear Matt, Even 35 years later, I still vividly remember coming out of the post office my first day on campus to find the friendly faces at the band table asking me if I played an instrument. While I played trombone in my high school band, I thought I surely wouldn’t be proficient enough to play at the “college level.” You soon put my fears to rest and welcomed me,…
Thank you Matt for your years in leading the Brown Band, which quite literally brought us together as a couple. Your calm, steady hand prevented the Band from becoming, to use a recent President Obama phrase, “an absolute chaotic mess.” Thank you for so many great memories. All the best to you and your family on a well-earned retirement. Ever true, Andy Abramowitz, ‘92, Band President ‘90-‘91, Band Business Manager…
My senior year in the Brown Band was Matt’s first year at Brown. I was on the Band Board that helped interview him for the position. I immediately liked him. He was laid back and had a dry sense of humor that fit well with the Band’s ethos, and a broad musical knowledge that enabled him to arrange pieces like the Brown Commencement March for us to perform. His guidance…
Dear Matt, Throughout my four-plus years as an undergraduate at Brown, you were my favorite faculty member. Your graciousness, sense of humor and passion have made you not only an intuitive and beloved band director but also a mentor and ally. Regardless of how mediocre my playing remained during my tenure as a Brown Band member, you treated me with respect and encouragement. I also very much enjoyed your class…
Congratulations, Matt, on your retirement. As a Brown student now over 30 years ago, I participated fully in the Brown Band (and was even on Band Board), and occasionally in the Brown Wind Symphony. I believe I also took a Music course with you one year. I thank you for inspiring me to continue with my musical education, which was a substantial part of my Brown experience. Looking back on…
I played in Wind Symphony and Brown Band with Matt from 1999-2003 and served as his assistant conductor for Wind Symphony 2000-2003. He also informally gave me conducting lessons and advised me on everything under the sun. The impact Matt has had on my life and the depth of my gratitude for his care and mentoring are incalculable. He gave me opportunities that are more or less unheard of for…
