Matthew Maslanka is David Maslanka’s second son and the primary caretaker of David’s music. Born in New York City in 1982, he grew up listening to his father composing at the piano. From the age of 10, Matthew started helping out by making photocopies of scores and dubbing cassette tapes for David to send to conductors interested in the music. At 12, Matthew discovered the delights of engraving music with a computer. By 14, he was skilled enough to handle the preparation of his father’s music and proceeded to engrave virtually every work from that point forward. In this way, he built up a deep understanding of the underpinnings of David’s writing and long-term development as a composer. He frequently accompanied his father on trips to work with ensembles and observed his working process closely. Matthew enjoyed a particularly close personal and professional relationship with David.

Matthew is a versatile musician, performing on euphonium and trombone, preparing sheet music for performance and publication, and publishing his father’s music. He studied euphonium performance as an undergraduate at Michigan State University with Philip Sinder and as a master’s student at Indiana University with Daniel Perantoni. He also studied trombone as a doctoral candidate at Indiana University with Carl Lenthe. He has performed on Broadway in the orchestra of Fiddler on the Roof and plays with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and the Chelsea Symphony, among others.

Along with performing, Matthew is an accomplished music engraver and copyist. Equally at home in the commercial and classical worlds, he has prepared music in diverse genres. Projects have included the Pixar film The Incredibles 2, Warner Brothers’ Shazam!, the hit video game Destiny 2 by Bungie Inc. and the acclaimed musicals Far From Heaven by Scott Frankel with orchestrations by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin, Chess by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and Sycamore Trees by Ricky Ian Gordon. He has also engraved opera, wind ensemble, and chamber music for the New York-based publisher Carl Fischer and Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski in Hamburg.

In 2012, Matthew founded Maslanka Press to publish his father’s works. Dedicated to producing beautiful, affordable new editions, promoting David’s music, and supporting performers, educators, and enthusiasts, Maslanka Press now publishes more than 70 works worldwide. Following David’s passing in 2017, he started the David Maslanka Foundation with his brother Stephen and sister Kathryn to preserve and promote David’s music and life. As part of that mission, Matthew travels worldwide, coaching performing groups on his father’s music.

Matthew is an avid photographer and lives in New York City with his two dogs, Cassie and Max.

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The Everything Band Podcast team includes the following contributors:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker