American guitarist, composer, and producer Matthew Cochran is establishing a bold new repertoire for the guitar in the 21st century. His music combines elements of romanticism, minimalism, and popular styles. No Depression raves, “The pure emotive quality of Cochran’s music pulls you into its embrace and empties your heart with every note,” and This is Classical Guitar praises Cochran’s “wide variety of textures from melodic exchanges, intricate kaleidoscopic grooves, to spacious mediations.”

 

A growing list of leading concert artists and ensembles perform Cochran’s music. Throughout the 2025-2026 season, Cochran’s music will be performed across four continents, from Iceland to Johannesburg, and from Oklahoma to Austria. Recent works by Cochran include Pale Blue Dot for guitar duo, Landscape with False Memory for guitar and string quartet, Three Inward Glances, and Two Young Fish for solo guitar (commissioned by Stephen Mattingly). Other notable pieces include Hope Begins in the Dark for electric guitar and electronics (commissioned by Tom Clippinger and Chase Bliss Audio), Winter Was Hard for guitar ensemble (commissioned by the 2025 Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival, and performed at various events, including the 2025 Guitar Foundation of America Convention, the 2025 Classical Guitar Retreat in Scotland, and the 2025 Interlochen Classical Guitar Intensive), Testament, a solo guitar piece commissioned by Matthew McAllister, and Like a Bird on the Wing, a Fantasy/Variations on the Scottish traditional tune “Skye Boat Song,” commissioned by Stewart Kelly. Les Editions d’Oz and Sacred Black Publications publish Cochran’s music.

 

Praised for his “commanding stage presence, intimate expression, and inventive interpretation” (Soundboard) and “strong, nuanced, textured performances with compelling dynamics and a beautiful sound” (Classical Guitar Magazine), Cochran has performed at festivals, universities, and series across North America, including the Guitar Foundation of America, Weill Hall, New York Guitar Seminar, Mostly Music Chicago, Peabody Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin College, University of Louisville, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Mannes School of Music, Austin Peay University, Stetson University, and Acadia International Guitar Festival (Canada). His U.K. appearances include performances at the Crail Festival, Classical Guitar Retreat, and Big Guitar Weekend at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland. In Europe, Cochran has performed at Śląska Jesień Gitarowa (Poland) and festivals like the Internationales Gitarren-Festival Iserlohn, Halein International Guitar Festival, and Nürtingen International Guitar Festival (Germany), as well as at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik (Iceland).

 

Matthew Cochran often performs with Scottish virtuoso Matthew McAllister. Cochran & McAllister premiered as a duo in 2023 with tours in Scotland and the Midwestern United States. The pair quickly established themselves as a major voice in the guitar world through a combination of unique, accessible programming and warm, easygoing onstage rapport. Cochran & McAllister’s 2025-2026 performance season features expanded engagements in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Cochran & McAllister’s debut album, Pale Blue Dot, is a tribute to astronomer and writer Carl Sagan. This is Classical Guitar raves, “Great playing throughout the album with both virtuosic ensemble performances…always sounding musical, natural, and well settled. The recording quality is also very nice with a warm, glowing sound and enough clarity for good separation.”  

 

Matthew Cochran launched Sacred Black Records in 2024, a classical music label and publisher that brings world-class musicians closer to their audiences through recordings, live events, and publications. The label’s first releases include Cochran & McAllister’s Pale Blue Dot, pianist Kara Huber’s Piano Works of Joan Tower, and the Perlak Mela Guitar and Percussion Duo’s debut album, Spaces. Upcoming projects showcase Stephen Mattingly’s solo guitar project, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Critical Mass, featuring the solo instrumental works of Michigan-based composer Thomas Childs, as well as Guitar Music of Iceland by Svanur Vilbergsson and Matthew McAllister’s latest solo guitar album, Testament, which features a title track written by Cochran.   

 

Cochran’s many recordings, performances, and interviews have been featured on National Public Radio (NPR), British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Radio Poland, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC); podcasts and web series including Gallery of Guitar, One-Track Podcast, Up North Lowdown, Classical Guitar Insider, and This is Classical Guitar; syndicated radio programs such as Latino USA and Classical Guitar Alive; he is a frequent guest on Interlochen Public Radio’s In Studio A, Kids Commute and Great Lakes Concerts. Cochran has recorded masterworks by luminaries such as J.S. Bach, Steve Reich, Manuel de Falla, Johann Pachelbel, Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter, and Enrique Granados, among many others, and is often sought out by recording artists for his work as an audio and video producer. Cochran wrote, produced, and hosted Goes2Eleven, a popular podcast about the world of the guitar, which reached over 10,000 weekly listeners from 2014 to 2016. D’Addario and Augustine Strings, NPR, and the BBC have featured Cochran’s work as an independent audio and video producer.

 

Matthew Cochran often works with innovative and original composers, including Steve Reich, Max Richter, Edie Hill, Apostolos Paraskevas, and Jacob Ter Veldhuis. Ter Veldhuis states, “I’m so impressed with Matthew’s performance of my music. The sounds he gets out of his guitar are gorgeous, the overall interpretation is splendid, his technique is fabulous, plus the mix is much to my taste. Bravo!!” In 2024, Cochran debuted Sean Hickey’s Arroyo Secco for solo guitar. In 2025, Cochran will debut Thomas Childs’ Circumvention for solo guitar and Sean Hickey’s Congregate Settings Concerto for guitar and wind ensemble at the Frost School of Music in Miami, FL.

 

Cochran is an in-demand lecturer, ensemble coach, and conductor. He has presented at guitar festivals, performing arts high schools, and colleges throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada, including the Eastman School of Music, Louden All-County Guitar Festival, and the Classic Art Festival (Serbia). Dr. Cochran is a Guitar Instructor at Interlochen Arts Academy, and he directs the Interlochen Classical Guitar Summer Intensive. Dr. Cochran’s students have been awarded scholarships to some of the finest Universities and Conservatories in the U.S., including the Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, University of Southern California, Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, California Institute of the Arts, Oberlin College, Bellmont University, University of Texas Austin, Florida State University, Columbus University, Stetson University, and many more. Dr. Cochran's students have been featured on National Public Radio's From the Top, and performances from the Interlochen Guitar program have been featured on American Public Media's Performance Today.

 

An active member of the classical guitar community, Cochran serves on the Board of Trustees of the Guitar Foundation of America. Cochran holds a Doctorate in Classical Guitar Performance from Florida State University College of Music and a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Classical Guitar Performance from the Eastman School of Music. His primary teachers were Mark Stewart (Musical Director for Paul Simon's Bang On a Can All-Stars), Bruce Holzman (Florida State University), and Nicholas Goluses (Eastman School of Music).