Matthew Nolan

Assistant Professor Matt Nolan has a holistic vision for music, art, movement, and light. He grew up in Northern Virginia where he enjoyed theater, chorus, and the arts. He began voice lessons at the age of 16 at GMU. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Synthesis as a voice principal from Berklee College of Music (2007), a Master of Music in Music Composition from George Mason University (2012), and a MFA in Visual Art from GMU (2022).  Before coming to MASON, Matt worked for LiveNation! producing concerts, mostly at The Orpheum Theater in Boston, Massachusetts.  Matt has worked for the Computer Game Design department since the Summer of 2008 and is proud to be a part of a growing community of game designers in Northern Virginia.

Matt has Lectured at Tuft's University, The Smithsonian Institute's Hirschorn Museum in Washington DC, and multiple conferences. He currently teaches Sound and Music courses and Serious Games for George Mason University’s Computer Game Design Program.

His Specialties include: Real-time MIDI, Alternate Controllers, Digital Audio, Sound Design, Game Audio Design and implementation, Music Composition and Desktop Music Production, Participatory Entertainment, and Participatory Education design, prototyping, and delivery.  His creative publishing endeavors include 10+ commercial album releases and music production credits between 1999 and present, app design and development,  sound and music for games and film, music videos, independent game studio from 2018-2020 (which hosted multiple GMU interns and employees),  art gallery shows, interactive installations, signs, commissioned artwork, and hosts an art residency program.

His conference presentations, art, programming, and interactivity work have been used, performed, or exhibited at: Seoul International Computer Music Festival (Seoul Korea, 2007), Florida Electro-Acoustic Music Festival (University of Florida, Gainesville, 2007), Berklee College of Music (Boston), George Mason University's Center for the Arts (Fairfax), The Hylton Center for the Arts (Manassas, 2012), The Electro-Acoustic Barn Dance (Fredericksburg 2015), TedX (Tyson’s Corner, 2016), The East Coast Games Conference (Arcology and Games, Raleigh, 2016), New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) 2007 at the Columbia University Computer Music Center as part of NYC Electronic Arts Festival (New York, 2007), the Shenendoah Valley Art Center (Waynesboro, 2021), The Workhouse Art Center (Lorton, 2019), and the Torpedo Factory (Alexandria, 2019).

Matt Nolan and his colleague Andrew Beck were mentioned in the October 2007 issue of MIX magazine for their creative use of Nintendo Wii Remote to control real-time sound synthesis and video effects.  Matt has been the subject of multiple local news stories related to his permaculture practices and disc golf tournament directing at home in Fauquier County, VA.

Degrees

• MM, Music, George Mason University