Scholarship Recipient Update – Matthew Dykeman

24-year-old clarinetist Matthew Dykeman appeared on From the Top with Host Christopher O’Riley on Show 199, recorded in June 2009. On the show, he received From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. Here is what Matthew has been up to since then, along with some of his thoughts on how the award has impacted his life.

An Alum Comes Home

Matt attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Jonathan Gunn and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Music degree. After a semester at the University of Maryland College Park pursuing a Master of Music under Robert DiLutis, Matt began performing and teaching full-time in the Maryland and D.C. areas. At this time, he also participated in From the Top’s 2015 Arts Leadership Residency in Hazard, Kentucky. Through these experiences engaging young musicians in an impoverished region of the country, he found a new passion.

Matt now lives in the Boston area and works as the Admissions & Alumni Relations Assistant for From the Top and as a clarinet teacher with 77 Arts Academy in Acton.

What The Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award Meant To Matt

“Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award was nothing short of a miracle for me and my family. Money has always been tight for us and it became even tighter during my high school days. At that time, my father was on permanent disability after suffering a massive heart attack and contracting short-term memory loss as a result. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years later. The scholarship allowed me to purchase two brand-new clarinets just before I left for college. Without that money, I have no idea what I could have done. Equally as important for me, the accompanying Arts Leadership project gave me the courage to step beyond my instrument and use my skills to help my community. Now, working at From the Top, I have the privilege of meeting the next generation of young classical musicians and providing them with the same opportunities that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and From the Top gave me.”

Learn more about Matthew and listen to him by clicking here.