Hailed for his “astounding range and virtuosity” (CD HotList), Matthew Nelson is Professor of Clarinet at the University of Louisville. He maintains an international profile as both performer and pedagogue, with engagements as invited professor on the faculties of the Beyond the Music International Chamber Music Festival and the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla-La Mancha in Spain. Recent performances include concerts at the 2024 TARA Contemporary Music Festival in Salta, Argentina and the 2023 ADEC National Clarinet Congress in Vigo, Spain. In 2019 he performed at prestigious venues in Russia and Mongolia, also presenting master classes at the Rostov State Conservatory in Rostov and at the Mongolian State Conservatory in Ulaanbaatar. He has performed as guest principal clarinet with the Virginia and Utah Symphonies, and his performances throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia include international competitions and premieres.

Nelson recently released an album of Charles Harford Lloyd’s chamber music. His discography also includes an album of clarinet works by Marc Satterwhite, all which Nelson commissioned and/or premiered. His 2019 Northern Fantasies collaboration with Utah Symphony pianist Jason Hardink was featured on APM’s Performance Today, and Nelson’s debut solo CD, Meditations and Tributes, included the premiere recording of Kaija Saariaho’s Duft. Nelson and Hardink garnered rave reviews from the Internationale Draeseke Gesellschaft for their interpretation of Felix Draeseke’s Sonata; the IDG promoted the recording in their annual publication, while critics described the album in its entirety as a “superb exposition” (Colin Clarke) and praised the performers’ “great virtuosity and excellent style” (Maria Nockin). Nelson’s work in Meditations and Tributes was lauded as “an unreserved success” (Fanfare), demonstrating a “staggering command of the instrument” (textura). He has recorded as a soloist or chamber musician for the Soundset, Centaur, Parma, and Albany labels.

Prior to his appointment at the UofL, Nelson held the position of principal clarinet with the Utah Chamber Orchestra (Ballet West). He served on the faculty of Utah Valley University for five years, where he was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Alpine Chamber Winds woodwind quintet. He was a NOVA Chamber Music Series artist from 2011 – 2014, and he also held an artist/faculty position at the Tuacahn Summer Symphonic Institute in St. George, UT. In 2013 he gave master classes and performed at the Instituto para el Desarrollo Musical in Castellón, Spain.

Nelson has performed at the International Clarinet Association’s annual ClarinetFest in Dublin, Denver, Knoxville, Ostend, Orlando, Lawrence, Baton Rouge, Assisi, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. An advocate of new music, he has worked closely with many prominent contemporary composers, including Kaija Saariaho, Shulamit Ran, Steve Rouse, Marc Satterwhite, Krzysztof Wolek, William O. Smith, Agata Zubel, Joël-François Durand, Bruce Quaglia, Morris Rosenzweig, Diane Thome, Dan Welcher, and Eric Flesher.

Nelson is a Buffet Crampon Artist/Clinician and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist.