Matthew Calderon is a classical pianist currently based in Houston, Texas. An active recitalist and collaborator, he has performed in concerts in the United States, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. Born and raised in Los Baños, Philippines, Matthew made his debut as a classical pianist at age sixteen in the Young Artist Series of the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation.

Matthew started playing the piano with Jerome Baes in his hometown. He was a national government scholar at the Philippine High School for the Arts studying with renowned Filipino pianist Mary Anne Espina. During this period, he also received further instruction from Filipino piano pedagogues such as Manual Maramba OSB, Najib Ismail, Ross Salvosa, Aries Caces and Reynaldo Reyes. In 2018, he received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida under full-scholarship and the Nelson Family Award. He was a Reid Nibley scholar at the Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where he graduated with a Master of Music in Piano Performance in 2020. In Spring of 2023, Matthew received a Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Florida State University. Matthew is currently pursuing a second Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano with a minor in Applied Voice at the University of Houston. His principal teachers include Roberta Rust, Timothy Hester, Stephen Beus, and Read Gainsford.

Matthew has appeared as soloist with the Lynn Philharmonia, Symphonicity Orchestra, the Manila Symphony Orchestra, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the 2019 Gíjon International Piano Festival in Asturias (Spain), the 2016 and 2017 Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Tampa, Florida (USA), and the 2013 Yong Siew Toh Summer Piano Institute (Singapore). He has received top prizes in competitions, including the 2016 LYNN Concerto Competition, 2016 Florida State Music Teachers’ Association “Gray Perry Young Collegiate Competition Award”, the Byrd Piano Ensemble Award in Jacksonville, Florida, the Great Composer Series “Best Schubert Performance,” the 2015 Music Teachers’ National Association Florida State Competition (Senior Category), and the 2012 Mozart International Piano Competition (Junior Category) in Thailand. He has performed in masterclasses for pedagogues such as Stephen Hough, Peter Serkin, Julian Martin, Rebecca Penneys, Boris Slutsky, Nancy Weems, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Yong Hi Moon, James Giles, Logan Skelton, Kirill Gerstein, and the Formosa Quartet.

Matthew enjoys collaborative work in recitals and concerts and is an active vocal coach. He is currently a staff pianist at the Moores Opera Center at Houston and has performed with renowned musicians such as violist Garth Knox, tenor Jonah Hoskins, and trumpet artist Dominique Bodart. A tenor, he studied classical singing with bass-baritone David Okerlund at Florida State University and baritone Daniel Belcher at the University of Houston.

Matthew has been a dedicated piano teacher since 2012. He currently teaches piano privately and in various institutions across the Greater Houston area. He was a faculty member at the 2021 Summer Piano Institute at FSU and a former piano instructor at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music Preparatory School. At BYU, he taught secondary and class piano to undergraduate students. At FSU, he taught secondary piano and coached chamber music to both undergraduate and graduate students. Currently at the University of Houston, he is a graduate assistant in collaborative piano providing services in opera acting seminars, opera scenes, masterclasses, and instrumental collaborations.