Michael Matsuno is a flutist specializing in classical and contemporary music. He has performed with various ensembles throughout Southern California including the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony, Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, Ensemble Echoi, and Red Fish Blue Fish. He has been featured as a guest on series such as the Monday Evenings Concerts, June in Buffalo Festival, La Rara Noche (Tijuana, MX), Harvard Group for New Music, Jacaranda Music, and San Diego New Music. He has given first performances by such composers as Wilfrido Terrazas, Alvin Lucier, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Carolyn Chen, Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, Katharina Rosenberger, Matthew Chamberlain, and others.
Michael is grateful to serve as an educator at a number of institutions, teaching a broad range of disciplines in music. He currently holds positions at Chapman University, Pierce College, Cal State Long Beach, CalArts, and the LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) program at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy.
Michael is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UC San Diego. His forthcoming dissertation is a biography of the California E.A.R. Unit (1981-2010), one of Los Angeles’ first standalone contemporary music ensembles. Through this lens, his work explores the development new music institutions at the end of the 20th century. He received a Master of Arts from UC San Diego and Bachelor Music in flute performance from the University of Southern California. His flute teachers have included John Fonville, Jim Walker and Nadine Asin.