Music Department
Contact Information
Email: mjaskot@holycross.edu
Office Phone: (508) 793-2721
Office: Brooks 343
Matthew Jaskot's music is organic and eclectic, drawing from a variety of traditions, and exploring dichotomies that exist between simplicity and complexity, activity and stasis, and clarity and chaos. His works have been performed nationally and internationally by the Kronos Quartet, Boston Musica Viva, Transient Canvas, the Xelana duo, the Great Noise Ensemble, the Fortunata Trio, the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Percussion Group, Jennifer Ashe (soprano), Alice Jones (flute), Alicia Kosack (flute), Laura Armstrong (clarinet), Daniel Beilman (bassoon), Alex Davis (bassoon), Matt Taylor (saxophone), Philip Staudlin (saxophone), Ana Garcia Caraballos (saxophone), Matt Sharrock (percussion), Karlyn Mason (percussion), Leonardo Soto (percussion), Blair McMillen (piano), Peter Sulski (viola) and many others. He has participated as a composer/pianist in a variety of conferences hosted by the Society of Composers, the College Music Society, and the National Saxophone Alliance conference, and festivals such as the West Fork New Music Festival, Connecticut Summerfest, the University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Festival, the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice, and the Charlotte New Music Festival. His solo piano piece, Rejuvenated (Variations on a Youthful Theme) is published on the Society of Composer's CD release, Flare, produced by Navona Records. He holds a DMA and MM in composition from the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) and a BA in music from the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), and has studied composition with Osvaldo Golijov, Shirish Korde, Mark Wilson, and Tom DeLio, and piano with Marian Hanshaw and Gina Fredericks.
Matt is an accomplished pianist, focusing on the the presentation of works from the twentieth and twenty-first century. He has recently performed as a guest artist at Clark University, Merrimack College, and Harford Community College and has shared the stage with many accomplished musicians including Jan Muller-Szeraws (cello), Adam Golka (piano), Matt Sharrock (percussion), Laura Armstrong (clarinet), Alice Jones (flute), Jennifer Ashe (soprano), Jonathan Hess (percussion), and Wu Tong (sheng) among others. As a graduate student, he premiered a variety works on the University of Maryland’s New Music Series and served as the artistic director of TEMPO, a student-run new music ensemble at the University of Maryland. Under his direction, TEMPO became recognized as an integral part of the School of Music and was positively reviewed in the Washington Post. Matt's interest in music extends beyond the classical tradition. He has been active as a liturgical organist and pianist for several years and has also performed with various groups in styles ranging from jazz, to rock, to popular music.
Currently, Matt serves on the faculty at the College of the Holy Cross where he has taught courses in music theory, composition, surveys in twentieth century music, including American popular music and the History of Rock, and Music of Peace and Conflict, and serves as the accompanist for the college choirs. In addition, he is the Coordinator of Wedding Music and Organist for on campus weddings. He has also taught courses at Clark University, American University, The University of Maryland and Montgomery Community College, as well as private students in composition and piano.