Profile: Matt Corey
Recording Engineer by day, bassoonist by night
Matt Corey got his start as a saxophone player at age 11. He recalls, "I liked playing the saxophone, but my instrument was a hand-me-down, and the case was really ugly...I was embarrassed to carry it around! One day, I saw a notice on the bulletin board that the band had two new bassoons for anyone who was interested. Even though I had no idea what a bassoon was, I figured the case had to look better than what I had, so I gave it a try. I really liked the sound, so I stuck with it." Matt continued his studies at the University of Miami, receiving Bachelors and Masters degrees in Bassoon Performance, and eventually began a Doctorate in Multiple Woodwinds, putting his saxophone background to use while also studying the clarinet.
In 2001, Matt was asked to become the personnel manager of the Boca Pops Orchestra, just a few months before it dissolved. However, he enjoyed the work, and was subsequently appointed to the same position with the Florida Philharmonic. Matt says, "The Florida Philharmonic was a special group of people that I was proud to be a part of. Like most people affiliated with the orchestra, it was much more than a job to me. If the orchestra were still in existence, I would undoubtedly still be with it." But just days after the orchestra filed for bankruptcy, Matt found himself in a new career as a recording engineer, working in a field that had interested him since his college days at U of M. "When I was in school, I earned extra money recording recitals and other concerts. In the years since, I've always had some sort of home studio, working on editing projects and multi-track recording. I was able to take this experience with me to my new job as Director of Digital Production for Insight for the Blind in Ft. Lauderdale." Insight for the Blind records books and magazines on tape for free distribution to blind persons and those with other physical handicaps that prevent reading in the conventional manner.
More recently, Matt has focused more time on his home studio and has branched out into sound design, serving as Music and Sound Designer for every production at GableStage in Coral Gables for the past two years. This work recently earned Matt a "Best Sound Design" Carbonell Award for The Pillowman. "I feel like I have been a sound designer ever since I first got my hands on a synthesizer in high school, but it has only been in the last couple of years that anyone has actually wanted to pay me to do it!"
Matt is active as a performing musician, serving as second bassoonist of the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra, and frequently playing multiple woodwinds with touring Broadway shows that visit the area. He has been a member of Local 655 since 1995, and owes it to his father, an actor, who is a national board member of the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA. "My pop always said that you weren't a professional until you were a union member, so I felt it was the right thing to do to join the AFM when I started earning money as a performer." Matt presently serves Local 655 as a member of the Theater Committee.
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