Matthew Joy (Acoustic Guitarist)  Acoustic Guitarist from Nashville, TN

Add an air of sophistication and elegance to your wedding/ corporate event/ private party with the subtly and distinction of live solo guitar music. Taking up very little space, it can embellish the ambiance of your event albeit indoors or outside, casual or formal. Berklee College of Music graduate Matthew Joy has more than a decade of experience performing at functions throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe. With affordable rates Matthew provides a diverse repertoire and eclectic playing styles. Professional and punctual, Matthew is ready to work with you to create a perfect backdrop to your event. Matthew was born in Boston Massachusetts. His family supported his interest in music and on his thirteenth birthday he received his first guitar. Settling on the instrument, he began composing almost immediately. During his high school years, under the tutelage of guitarist and composer Sandy Prager, Matthew began studying the art of solo guitar playing and composition. Prager had introduced Matthew to the music of Ralph Towner and Egberto Gismonti. During this time that Matthew began refining his compositional skills and finger-style technique on nylon and 12-string guitar. In 1997 he enrolled in Berklee College of Music earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Composition . There he studied privately with renowned guitarists, Jon Damian and Mick Goodrick. Moreover, he studied jazz big band and orchestral arranging with some of the greatest educators of the craft such as Ted Pease, Dick Lowell, Scott Free and Ken Pullig. After finishing his studies at Berklee in 2002, Matthew began vigorously composing and performing on nylon and 12-string guitar as a solo musician in Boston and New York City. He opened for known solo guitarists such as Preston Reed and Michael Gulezian. He recorded two self-released solo albums, Omnifarious and Pulse, both released in 2005, and composed over seventy original solo pieces. He later formed the group Orchestra of This, an eclectic acoustic quartet (nylon and 12-string guitars, woodwinds, percussion and double bass) fusing together different music styles including Contemporary Jazz, Brazilian, World, Folk and Classical. The group featured Matthew's original compositions and performed steadily in Boston. In addition he played lead guitar with the Boston-based Soul/Roots/R&B singer Jesse Dee. He performed regularly with the group for four years attending tours and festivals in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe and shared the stage with Etta James, Los Lobos, and Al Green among others. Matthew performed on Jesse's two full length recordings released on Munich records, Bittersweet Batch, released 2008 and On My Mind, In My Heart, released 2012 as well as the single, "Underneath The Christmas Tree" released in 2009. Some of Matt's televised performances include the Rock Candy Show (Boston, MA), Live at Vrije Geluiden (Netherlands), Rockplast (Germany) and radio performances on The BBC (Great Britain), RTV Rijnmond (Netherlands) and WERS (Boston MA). Matthew currently lives in Nashville TN where he received his Master of Arts degree, with specialization in Jazz Studies, from Middle Tennessee State University in 2012. Since moving from Boston to Nashville in 2009 Matthew has continued composing, performing and teaching. For his MTSU graduate recital he premiered his 30-minute suite for jazz orchestra with strings "Occupy Suite." Currently Matthew is working on a collection of guitar duets for the beginner and intermediate levels called Archetypal Aspects of Guitar Playing. Matthew is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Tennessee Music Teachers Association and the Nashville Area Music Teachers Association. Whether it's playing solo guitar or with a mixed bag of Nashville's in demand musicians, you can find Matthew performing regularly in town.