D.M., M.M., Indiana University; B.M., Florida State University Assistant Professor of Music
Dr. Matthew Cataldi has enjoyed a wildly versatile career as a soloist, collaborative
artist, conductor, composer, and educator. He holds a BM from Florida State University
as well as MM and DM degrees in Piano Performance and Literature from Indiana University,
where he studied with Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen.
As a performer, he has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jazz
at Lincoln Center, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in addition
to many other venues across the globe. He gave his orchestral debut as a teenager
playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 and has recorded a documentary CD of Spanish
and Latin American piano music which was accompanied by an international concert and
lecture tour. He is also an experienced conductor and musical director in the theatre
world, having premiered several new works in New York City in collaboration with Tony
Award winning Broadway artists.
As a composer and arranger, he enjoys bridging the classical and popular worlds, creating
and presenting exciting new music that caters to his unique background and interests.
Recent compositions and premiers include: “Variations and Fugue on a theme by Led
Zeppelin” - a classical set of variations on the iconic rock song “Stairway to Heaven”,
“Hail to the King” - a virtuosic medley of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, “24 Preludes
in Popular Style after Chopin” - a transcription project that arranges all of Chopin’s
Op. 28 Preludes in a variety of popular genres which was released on Albany Records
in 2022, and his most recent ongoing project, “Broadway Etudes for the Left Hand”
– a collection of studies for the left hand based on popular tunes from the Broadway
canon.
As an educator, he is active on the local, regional, and national research and pedagogy
stages. He has served multiple terms as president of the Highlands Chapter of the
Virginia Music Teachers Association where he has organized and run festivals for local
piano students and has presented on multiple occasions for the Music Teachers National
Association annual conference on topics including improvisation and creativity. He
is frequently invited as an adjudicator for competitions and to present workshops
and masterclasses for students across the country. His own students have been active
and visible on the national stage as well, being invited to speak on research panels
and presenting for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, and have been
accepted into graduate studies at New York University and the Royal Conservatory of
Scotland. His writings have been published by the College Music Society and the American
Music Teacher.
Dr. Cataldi currently serves as Director of Piano Studies and Associate Professor
of Piano at Radford University in Radford, Virginia, where he was awarded the Dalton
Eminent Scholar Rising Star award - a university-wide award for creative scholarship
that recognizes faculty with distinguished international reputations in their discipline.