Matthew Murchison is currently principal solo euphoniumist with the River City Brass Band in Pittsburgh, PA. He is also the founder of the world fusion group Mainspring. He first performed as a soloist while in high school and has since performed throughout the country and has won national and international competitions. Matthew has been a guest artist/clinician at numerous conferences, colleges and schools across the United States and is one of the most active euphonium soloists around today. Matthew holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Carnegie Mellon University. His love of world musics led him to form Mainspring in order to present beloved styles of music in a new way and also to take the euphonium to new places and audiences. Matthew is also a composer and arranger and has written or arranged all of the music for Mainspring, as well as his concert pieces for euphonium and arrangements for euphonium and brass band. Matthew can be heard on his solo CD Everyone But Me, Mainspring's debut CD Whiskey and Goats, as well as with the River City Brass Band on Polished Brass.
"For me, Yamaha euphoniums are the best, the most flexible and the most consistent instruments available today. From the time I was in high school, I've always played on Yamaha euphoniums: from the 321 to the 641, and now on to the 842 Custom. What impresses me most about the 842S is the flexibility. It gives me the ability to blend with a section, project a solo over a brass band, and completely change gears to play world and folk music. With my Yamaha I feel like I'm really playing with my horn, not against it. The quality of craftsmanship allows and encourages you to correctly approach brass playing."
Matthew Murchison currently holds the position of principal solo euphonium with the River City Brass Band in Pittsburgh, PA. Matthew is also the founder of Mainspring, a unique and flexible ensemble made up of euphonium, flute, guitar, bass, and percussion that fuses elements of folk, world, jazz and classical music with an inventive instrumentation to create an exciting new sound.
Matthew began performing as a guest soloist while in high school and has played solo performances throughout the country with a variety of groups such as the Brass Band of Battle Creek, UNT Symphony Orchestra, Western Arkansas Wind Symphony, Ozark Mountains Brass Band, with the wind symphonies of the College of Eastern Utah, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Arkansas-Ft.Smith, as well as others. His solo performances with the River City Brass Band have been broadcast across the country through WQED Pittsburgh, where Matthew has been featured on "Performance in Pittsburgh."
Matthew has been a guest artist/clinician at the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, US Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Conference, the Northeast Regional Tuba/Euphonium Conference, Penn State University, College of Eastern Utah, Duquesne University, University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith and for the Fort Smith Youth Symphony, as well as numerous schools across the country. Matthew was named a Yamaha Young Performing Artist in 2001, and most recently was a semi-finalist for the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and winner of the Tuesday Musical Club scholarship and the Pittsburgh Concert Society competition. Matthew's other competition successes include winning both the Artist and Student Divisions of the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition, as well as the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference Young Artist Competition.
Matthew released his first solo CD titled Everyone But Me in 2003 on the Mulholland Records and Music label. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Carnegie Mellon University.
