About
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.
Composer
No Depression writes, “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 his “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 2026–27 season his music will be heard across four continents, from Iceland to Johannesburg and from Oklahoma to Austria. Recent works include Pale Blue Dot for guitar duo, Landscape with False Memory for guitar and string quartet, and Three Inward Glances and Two Young Fish for solo guitar, both commissioned by Stephen Mattingly.
In 2027 Stephen Mattingly conducts the premieres of two new works for guitar orchestra: Wait For It... with the Florida Music Educators Association All-State Guitar Orchestra, and I Rest in the Grace of the World, after Wendell Berry, with the Kentucky Music Educators Association All-State Guitar Orchestra. Cochran’s works for guitar ensemble, including Banshees, Winter Was Hard and The Promise of Something New, are played by school, university and community guitar orchestras in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Other notable pieces include Winter Was Hard for guitar ensemble, commissioned by the 2025 Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival and since performed at the Guitar Foundation of America Convention, the Classical Guitar Retreat in Scotland and the Interlochen Classical Guitar Intensive; and Like a Bird on the Wing, fantasy-variations on the “Skye Boat Song” commissioned by Stewart Kelly. His music is published by Les Productions d’Oz and Sacred Black Publications.
Performer
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 State University, Stetson University and the Acadia International Guitar Festival in Canada.
His U.K. appearances include the Crail Festival, the Classical Guitar Retreat and Big Guitar Weekend at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In Europe he has performed at Śląska Jesień Gitarowa in Poland, the Iserlohn, Hallein and Nürtingen international guitar festivals, and Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík.
Cochran often performs with the Scottish virtuoso Matthew McAllister. Cochran & McAllister first toured in 2023, in Scotland and the Midwestern United States, and quickly became known for unique, accessible programming and a warm, easygoing rapport on stage. Their debut album, Pale Blue Dot, is a tribute to Carl Sagan.
Cochran works often with living composers, including Steve Reich, Max Richter, Edie Hill, Apostolos Paraskevas and Jacob ter Veldhuis, who wrote: “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.” In 2024 he gave the first performance of Sean Hickey’s Arroyo Seco for solo guitar.
Producer and label
Cochran founded Sacred Black Records in 2024, a classical label and publisher that brings world-class musicians closer to their audiences through recordings, live events and publications. Its first releases include Cochran & McAllister’s Pale Blue Dot, pianist Kara Huber’s Piano Works of Joan Tower, the Perlak Mela Guitar and Percussion Duo’s Spaces, and Stephen Mattingly’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. Coming next are Thomas Childs’ Singularities, Svanur Vilbergsson’s Guitar Music of Iceland and Matthew McAllister’s Testament.
His recordings, performances and interviews have been featured on NPR, the BBC, Radio Poland and CBC, on Latino USA and Classical Guitar Alive, and regularly on Interlochen Public Radio. He has recorded music by J.S. Bach, Steve Reich, Manuel de Falla, Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter and Enrique Granados, and works as an audio and video producer for other artists, with work featured by D’Addario and Augustine Strings, NPR and the BBC. He writes, produces and hosts The Classical Guitar Dispatch, a podcast telling the story of the guitar.
Teacher
Dr. Cochran is Guitar Instructor at Interlochen Arts Academy and directs the Interlochen Classical Guitar Summer Intensive. He lectures, coaches ensembles and conducts at festivals, schools and colleges in the U.S., Europe and Canada, including the Eastman School of Music, the Loudoun All-County Guitar Festival and the Classic Art Festival in Serbia. His students have won places and scholarships at the Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Eastman, New England Conservatory, Berklee, the Cleveland Institute of Music and many more, and have been featured on NPR’s From the Top and American Public Media’s Performance Today.
He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Guitar Foundation of America. He holds a doctorate in classical guitar performance from the Florida State University College of Music and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music. His principal teachers were Mark Stewart, Bruce Holzman and Nicholas Goluses.
For presenters
Short biographies, free to use in programmes and press releases.
150 words
American guitarist, composer and producer Matthew Cochran is building a new repertoire for the guitar from romanticism, minimalism and popular music. No Depression writes that “the pure emotive quality of Cochran’s music pulls you into its embrace and empties your heart with every note.” His works, published by Sacred Black Publications and Les Productions d’Oz, are performed by soloists, duos and guitar orchestras across North America and Europe; recent pieces include Pale Blue Dot for two guitars, Landscape with False Memory for guitar and string quartet, and Three Inward Glances for solo guitar. With the Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister he tours as Cochran & McAllister, whose debut album Pale Blue Dot appeared in 2024. Cochran founded the label and publisher Sacred Black Records, hosts The Classical Guitar Dispatch podcast, teaches at Interlochen Arts Academy and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Guitar Foundation of America.
50 words
American guitarist, composer and producer Matthew Cochran is building a new repertoire for the guitar from romanticism, minimalism and popular music. He performs worldwide as a soloist and with Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister, teaches at Interlochen Arts Academy, and founded the label and publisher Sacred Black Records.
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