About
Matthew Kimbley was born and raised in Asheville, NC. Soon after starting piano lessons at the age of five, he began studies under internationally renowned pianist Dr. John Cobb. A student of Claudio Arrau, Dr. Cobb’s legacy of teachers placed Kimbley in the direct lineage of great pianist-composers such as Franz Liszt, Carl Czerny, and Ludwig van Beethoven. During his studies in Asheville, he was a three-time winner of the Asheville Area Piano Forum Piano Competition.
After moving to Tennessee in 2014, Kimbley continued his piano studies with Dr. Peter Cooper, dean of the School of Music at Southern Adventist University (SAU). During his middle and high school years, he performed three solo recitals featuring works of Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven, and Ravel, among others. During his undergraduate years at SAU, he proceeded to perform three more solo recitals featuring many of the most challenging works of the piano repertoire.
In addition to solo works, Kimbley performed several times with the SAU Symphony Orchestra as a winner of their Concerto Competition. After being their youngest ever winner at age 13, he won twice more during his university studies at SAU. An experienced collaborative pianist, he has worked with many church and professional choirs, soloists, and chamber ensembles.
However, Kimbley has not limited himself to the piano. He is also a talented violist (and violinist as needed), having served as the principal violist of the SAU Symphony Orchestra and as section violist with the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra. As a percussionist, he served for two years as the principal percussionist for the East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra (ETSO) and as section percussionist with the SAU Wind Symphony. He soloed twice with the ETSO as both a pianist and violist. Most recently, he appeared as a guest piano soloist and chamber violist at Steinway Hall in New York.
Kimbley’s primary musical pursuit, however, is composition. One of his greatest passions ever since writing down notes on a blank staff at age five, he has actively written works ever since. His first major breakthrough came in 2019, when he was named the youngest ever winner of the Summer Singers Young Composers Competition. His album of solo piano hymn arrangements, Marvelous Grace, has been highly received both for its performance and the arrangements, most of which were written during high school.
During his undergraduate studies, Kimbley established himself as a promising composer, having written dozens of works for a variety of ensembles. Many of his solo and chamber works were featured on the first composition recital held at SAU in several years, showcasing several ambitious works clocking at nearly two hours long. His encores and cadenzas, all originally composed, are consistent audience favorites at his piano recitals. Some of his pieces have been performed and commissioned by prominent soloists including clarinetist Heather Roche and percussionist David Moliner. His orchestral works have been performed by all of the major SAU ensembles, as well as the ETSO and Chattanooga Symphony. Two of his pieces, Atlantic Overture and Arboreana, have been professionally recorded and are available on most streaming platforms.
Kimbley graduated summa cum laude in 2025 with degrees in piano and music theory and spent a year afterwards studying composition privately with James Lee III. He is now pursuing a masters in music composition at the University of Michigan studying under Bright Sheng. In the last year, Kimbley has already received several performance opportunities and commissions. He was recently awarded the first ever J. Kimo Williams Commission Prize for Rising Black Composers. He has also taken summer courses with prominent UK-based composers such as Richard Baker, Hollie Harding, Oliver Searle, and Emily Doolittle. His compositions have been performed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London, UK), the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts (New York). Upcoming opportunities include performances with the Chattanooga Symphony, SAU Symphony Orchestra, Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra, and a feature at the Berlin Philharmonie.
Outside of music, Kimbley enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and leadership. He served as the founder and president of two organizations - AYM Southeast, a faith-based retreat organization for teens in Tennessee, and the SAU Prayer Club.