Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Kent Everett
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began piano lessons at seven, inspired by my older sister. I quickly fell in love with music and found joy in playing the piano. By twelve, I was competing in local and national piano contests. Entering high school, I was certain I wanted a career as a classical pianist. I pursued this passion in college, earning a degree in piano performance and winning top prizes in several important competitions, which provided publicity and performance opportunities. I continued my education, earning a Master’s degree from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, where I was studied with Abbey Simon, Ruth Tomfohrde, and composer Carlisle Floyd.
My professional career has been diverse: I’ve freelanced as a pianist, taught in the classroom, directed music theater, accompanied for the Houston Ballet Academy, and worked as a church musician. This broad experience eventually caused me to notice sharp divisions between music and art genres and various class and cultural divisions that seemed to be associated with them. As a musician, music and art had a profound impact on my life and development as a person. Even though my family wasn’t wealthy, my career as a professional classical musician opened doors and provided opportunities that might have otherwise been out of reach. The profound impact that music and the arts have had on my life is something I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience.
The pandemic of 2020 highlighted the need to break down barriers in music, art, and culture. Art SHOULD be accessible to everyone. This conviction drove us to create The Woodlands Diversion, an initiative aimed at bringing diverse artistic experiences to our community and making a meaningful impact on people’s lives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. I have experienced smooth patches, but I’ve found with almost everything in life, things rarely go exactly according to plan. Some struggles I’ve dealt with were severe tendonitis, not winning competitions that I had dreamed of winning from an early age, getting passed up for performance opportunities for reasons unknown to me, to name a few.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a musician. I am the Artistic Director for The Woodlands Diversion, which is a collaborative performing arts organization. I am most proud of having founded this organization along with my husband and a team of super brilliant colleagues. As an artist/musician, my mission is to make the arts accessible to all people. Similarly, I believe that it is important to works by those who have typically been underrepresented by the art world. I am committed to showcasing works by female artists and composers, contemporary creators, non-Western traditions, individuals from marginalized groups, and works by people of color.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
My view on risk taking is that it’s a necessary part of life…especially if I want and expect to grow and evolve as a person and an artist. I can’t just sit back and expect things to happen. If I have an idea or a dream, I think about it. I meditate on it. I consult with others in my life whom I trust. I pray about it. I consider the potential outcomes, from worst to best. I try to measure the likelihood of each of those outcomes. I write out a plan about how to set the plan in motion and the resources that could be required (i.e. time, money, personnel, education/training, etc.). From that, I usually visit again with trusted friends and I typically use the reactions as a measuring stick for my “major risk.” This is precisely what I did when we started The Woodlands Diversion. I resigned from a position as Director of Music and Worship at church (that I loved), in order to start a nonprofit performing arts organization, without any guarantee of ever earning a paycheck.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thewoodlandsdiversion.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewoodlandsdiversion/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewoodlandsdiversion/
Image Credits
Jamie Schneider
