Dr. Eldon Matlick is Professor of Horn at the University of Oklahoma School of Music where his duties also include coordinating brass chamber music and conducting the renown OU Hornsemble.
Dr. Matlick has 42 years of professional orchestral experience. Twenty-six of those were as Principal Hornist of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. Other orchestras with which he has been associated have been the Owensboro Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Paducah Symphony (Principal) and Lexington (KY) Philharmonic (Principal) Orchestras, and as extra horn with the Nashville Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra.
Matlick is an active soloist. A former finalist in the Heldenleben International Horn Competition, he is also an extensive recitalist, performing frequently not only at the University, but at other venues throughout the United States. He has appeared in a soloist capacity at 10 International Horn Symposia and is a frequent guest artist at regional workshops sponsored by the International Horn Society.
He has repeatedly been a featured principal wind player and soloist for the Classical Music Seminar held at Eisenstadt, Austria. He has enjoyed solo appearances with various orchestras. He has twice been a featured soloist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra performing Robert Schumann’s ‘Concertstuke for Four Horns’ and Ken Fuch’s ‘Summer Banner’ for Horn and Chamber Orchestra.
As a member of the Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet, he has appeared at two MENC National Conventions as well as numerous venues in the Southwest. Their breakthrough recording, A Christmas Delight! on the Integra label. This is the first recording ever of seasonal music for this type of ensemble and has received favorable reviews. He can also be heard on the Oklahoma Philharmonic Orchestra’s recording A Time of Healing issued on the Warner Bros. label. Matlick has also released several solo CDs on the Mark Masters label, Bavarian Horn, and The French Connection. Both discs feature premier recordings of works from Austrian and German composers (Bavarian Horn), and examination pieces from the Paris and Liege Conservatories (The French Connection).
Prior to his tenure at the University of Oklahoma, he was Horn Professor at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. A respected pedagogue, Professor Matlick has written a series of articles about brass and horn pedagogy for The Instrumentalist, Texas Band Association, and Oklahoma Music News magazines. In addition he is a frequent guest artist at regional workshops sponsored by the International Horn Society. He also is in demand as a frequent clinician for public school and educator workshops.
Matlick’s students have had success in the education and performance fields. The horn studio at OU has attracted talented students from Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Michigan, New York, Colorado, Kansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Connecticut, California and Taiwan. These students have also been accepted into prestigious music festivals and graduate programs nationwide. In addition, many of his former students are successful teachers at the public school and collegiate levels. Others have had distinguished careers in orchestral and military band performance.
Matlick also directs the OU Hornsemble, a studio ensemble consisting of music majors and other interested individuals. Formed in 1985, this horn choir has had several invitations to perform at Oklahoma Music Educator conventions and International Horn Symposia and regional horn workshops.
In May 2018, the group received an invitation by the Wiener Waldhorn Verein (Vienna Horn Society), to come to Vienna to celebrate the 135th Anniversary of the ensemble, sharing a celebratory concert with them. The group performed in Ohlsdorf, Austria with the WWV and also in Eisenstadt at the Haydn Conservatory. The ensemble has premiered several works by the composition faculty and continues to explore the most demanding and recent literature written for this medium. Their many videos can be seen on YouTube and on the OU Horn Studio page on Facebook.
Dr. Matlick is also an Educational Artist with the Conn-Selmer Instrument Co.
DM — Indiana University
MM — Indiana University
BME — Eastern Kentucky University
