MATTHEW DECKER ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

The Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof Chair

Matthew Decker was appointed Assistant Principal Percussionist of the North Carolina Symphony in March of 2014 during his first season as a fellow of the New World Symphony. He has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Malaysian Philharmonic, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Battle Creek Symphony in Michigan. With Battle Creek, he made his solo debut in 2009, performing Russell Peck’s triple percussion concerto “The Glory and the Grandeur.” Decker was a 2011 fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and also spent summers at the Music Academy of the West, Round Top Festival and the Eastern Music Festival.

He has worked with conductors Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Ludovic Morlot and had the privilege of performing in a masterclass with Yo-Yo Ma.

Decker studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton and She-e Wu. He also attended Roosevelt University, where he studied with Vadim Karpinos. A native of Seymour, Indiana, he began his musical training with Paul Berns of the Indianapolis Symphony.

A winner of the 2010 Kerope Zildjian Scholarship and a finalist in the 2009 Atlanta Snare Drum Competition, Decker is also an avid enthusiast of novelty and ragtime music of the early 1900s with a special interest in the xylophone repertoire of the time.