A dynamic and versatile performer with a distinguished career as an international soloist, chamber musician, orchestral flutist, recording artist, author, and educator, Mary Matthews is flute professor at Florida State University's College of Music. She has performed on four continents, showcasing her artistry at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Fundação Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Festival Goethe Institut Música Nueva, and Cité Internationale des Arts. She is second flutist of the Tallahassee Symphony and performs regularly with orchestras such as the Nashville and Chattanooga Symphonies. As a prolific studio musician and recording artist, Matthews' work is featured in soundtracks for film, television, and video games on platforms such as Netflix, HBO, and Disney. Her discography includes four albums: Intersections (Ravello Records), Three-Nine Line (MSR Classics), Charuhas (Naxos), and Preludes & Recitations (Tonsehen Records). Her forthcoming releases include Kairos (2024) with the Newfound Chamber Winds and Flutlore (2025), an album of commissioned flute concertos.

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Mary is the flutist of Khemia Ensemble, a chamber ensemble dedicated to reflecting broader perspectives in contemporary chamber music. With its dynamic instrumentation, Khemia’s unique sound world encompasses the presentation of new classical music with a mix of acoustic chamber works, multimedia, and multi-genre influences. The ensemble, awarded the 2023 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, has been featured at venues and festivals such as National Sawdust, the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Strange Beautiful Music, New Music Gathering, Latin IS America, the Missouri Summer Composition Institute, and the Biennial New Music Festival in Córdoba, Argentina. Additionally, Khemia has held residencies at numerous universities across North and South America. Matthews also performs with Newfound Chamber Winds, Duo Rossignol, Duo Elektra, and Aviary Quartet, with appearances at the ICA Festival in Dublin, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the College Music Society's National Conference, the New Music Gathering, the Dairy Arts Center's Soundscape series, and multiple National Flute Association conventions.

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Mary is the winner of numerous competitions including the South Carolina Flute Society Young Artist Competition, the Kathryn E. MacPhail Young Artist Competition, and the Firelands Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition.  She received an Honorable Mention in the Mary Graham Lasley Young Artist Competition and was a finalist in the Coeur D'Alene Young Artist Competition, the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition, and the J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition. Over the course of her career, she has been selected for over 20 performance, research, and community outreach grants, including the Boedecker Path to Excellence Grant at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO and the Bradley Research Grant at Florida State University. 

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A sought-after performer of new music, Mary has premiered over 50 new works. She is known for her command of extended techniques and her adventurous programming. In June of 2021, she released her first method book co-authored by Nicole Chamberlain titled Beatboxing and Beyond that introduces the most common types of extended techniques for flute. The book is published by Spotted Rocket and was reviewed as "a revelation - it's a worthy addition to all our libraries." (Flutist Quarterly). She was awarded the 2022 Scholastic Research Award from Tennessee Tech University for the publication, and the National Flute Association named Beatboxing & Beyond a finalist in the 2022 Newly Published Music awards. The second volume, Into the Beyond, was released in October of 2023 and was named a finalist in the 2024 NFA Newly Published Music Awards. 

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Prior to her appointment at FSU, Dr. Matthews served as Associate Professor of Flute at Tennessee Tech University's School of Music. During the summer, she is on faculty at New England Music Camp and the Newfound Chamber Winds Fellowship Program, and she offers workshops and lessons at FSU's Summer Music Camps. Her masterclasses and workshops span institutions worldwide, including Michigan State University, Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music, Bowling Green State University, and El Instituto Eduardo Laredo in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Matthews has also presented research at conferences such as the Peabody Institute Career Development Series, the College Music Society’s National Conference, the International Alliance for Women in Music congress, and the Music by Women Festival. Her doctoral thesis is titled "The Flute Music of Anna Bon di Venezia in the Context of Eighteenth-Century Flute Repertoire" and provides a theoretical, historical, and pedagogical analysis of the composer's works for flute. The National Flute Association's Flutist Quarterly published her article about Anna Bon's life and works in their Fall 2018 edition. 

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A Rochester, NY native, Mary began her formal flute studies at the Eastman School of Music's Preparatory Program. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from The Hartt School, a Master of Music Degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers include Jan Angus, George Pope, and Janet Arms. Mary lives in Tallahassee, FL with her husband, trumpeter Brandon Norton, and their four-legged family members, Avery, Chipper, Nala, and Ariel.

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View a full repertoire list HERE

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