Matthew H. Hayes grew up in the small central-Ohio town of Coshocton, which is, coincidentally, both the birthplace of Charles Wilcoxon and site of VFW Post 2040 – the subject of Alan Abel’s classic rudimental snare solo “2040’s Sortie.” Active in music throughout his high school career, he decided to continue studying percussion while pursuing a degree in music education – an endeavor that began at Capital University with Bob Breithaupt and was eventually achieved at Youngstown State University, where he studied with Dr. Glenn Schaft. During that time, Matt was heavily involved with many collegiate ensembles, from jazz to orchestral, and most notably held a featured spot in the Youngstown Percussion Collective’s world premier of Dr. Dave Morgan’s Forms of Things Unknown. He also served as the Staff Percussionist for the All-Ohio Youth Choir in Columbus, travelled with Matrix Performing Arts’ Independent World line, and was hired as the Director of Percussion at his alma mater, River View High School – a position which involved facilitating, directing, and composing/arranging for numerous ensembles ranging from marching band to Caribbean steel drums. 

Since earning his Bachelor’s degree at YSU, Matthew has become extremely active in the Youngstown music scene: playing drums and percussion with The Labra Brothers, The Big Nasty, the Mark Soini Trio, and regularly exercising his orchestral chops with the Youngstown Scoring Stage. He is also a founding member of newYo percussion, a quartet dedicated to inspiring young musicians through educational concerts and programs, and to expanding audiences’ ideas of what good music is – and can be – by playing new and classic repertoire at the highest level possible. Beyond performing, Matthew teaches percussion classes to 5th-12th graders during the school day for both Boardman and Poland Local school districts, has served as percussion instructor for numerous marching programs including Clarion University, is on staff at The Drum Smith (the local drum shop) in Struthers, OH, and he maintains a private lessons studio of more than 30 students at The Music Gallery in Canfield, OH. Outside of music, his most extraordinary accomplishment is a thru-hike of the entire Appalachian Trail – over 2000 miles – between May and December of 2016.