Matthew Hodge is an award-winning composer, bestselling author, and professor currently based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

As a composer, Matthew has worked with Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winners around the country. He has worked on award-winning projects that have received praise from The New York Times, Variety, The Huffington Post, Radio Disney, The Advocate, MSN News, and FOX News. His credits include international television, feature films, theatre, video games, podcasts, commercials, and celebrity events. His music has been heard on NETFLIX, HULU, FOX, APPLE, AMAZON, PBS, and MUNDOFOX. Additionally, his contemporary vocal arrangements have been performed by hundreds of schools, universities, and singing groups in all 50 states and in over 30 countries spanning six continents (recent clients include Harvard University and the prestigious London Contemporary Voices). He is a professional composer/arranger for a cappella vocal groups (www.acappella-songs.com), having serviced hundreds of a cappella clients. Videos of singers performing Matthew's a cappella arrangements have collectively earned over 50 million views on Youtube.

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Matthew has ranked as a finalist/semifinalist seven times in international competitions (including multiple Top 10 placements internationally). He frequently serves as a judge for the annual CINE Film Score Competition and Marvin Hamlisch International Film Score Competition; he has also served as a judge for Varsity Vocals International Acappella Competitions and Miss America qualifying competitions. Additionally, he has served as a board member of non-profit arts organizations (statewide, national, and international) and has received multiple awards for his artistic contributions to various charities. Additionally, he has held memberships in numerous professional organizations.

 

As an author, Matthew specializes in scholarly and academic nonfiction. His recent book Cool Cats and a Hot Mouse: A History of Jazz and Disney (Theme Park Press) won a 2021 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD (Music Category), a 2021 NYC BIG BOOK DISTINGUISHED FAVORITE AWARD (Music Category), a 2020 NFAA GOLD AWARD (Nonfiction Authors Association), a 2020 BIBA BEST INDIE BOOK AWARD (Nonfiction Category), a 2020 LITERARY TITANS SILVER AWARD, and a nomination for the 2021 ARSC AWARD (Association for Recorded Sound Collections), as well as reached AMAZON BEST SELLER status in both Kindle and Paperback formats (including Top 10, Top 30, Top 50, and Top 100 category rankings). He is also the author of the award-winning book Gotham City Sounds: The Music of Batman Villains (Pulp Hero Press), the lead editor of Exploring the Macabre, Malevolent, and Mysterious: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Cambridge Scholars Publishing), the lead editor of A Critical Companion to Julie Taymor (Lexington Books), and an editorial consultant for POWERS OF POP: Cross-Cultural Influences Between Japanese and American Pop Cultures (Cambridge Scholars Publishing). Additionally, he has contributed chapters for the edited volumes The Psychosocial Implications of Disney Movies (MDPI), Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Media Fandom (IGI Global), Handbook of Research on Aestheticitization of Violence, Horror, and Power (IGI Global), Research Anthology on Modern Violence and Its Impact on Society Volume 2 (IGI Global), "A Hero Will Endure": Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator (Vernon Press), and the upcoming Mythological Equines in Film (Vernon Press), as well as authored articles published in academic journals and magazines (see Author page). He also serves as an Editor and Reviewer for multiple international journals.

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Matthew is currently a music and theatre professor at William Peace University in Raleigh, NC, and also serves as one of the directors of the university's Interdisciplinary Arts program. He has also worked with North Carolina State University, Campbellsville University, the University of Kentucky, Lindsey Wilson College, Bellarmine College, and Centre College. He has co-designed degrees currently being offered at universities in multiple states, created curriculum for international studies, presented research at several international academic conferences (including one at Harvard University), and published multiple scholarly books, chapters, and journal articles (see Professor page). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Composition & Theory degree and a Master of Arts in Music degree from Campbellsville University and a Master of Fine Arts in Composition degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts. During his studies, Matthew was awarded competitive scholarships and student awards.

 

In the theatre world, Matthew has worked in over 60 productions in various roles including music director, composer, producer, and playwright. His professional collaborations include Tony Award winners and several Broadway performers. As a frequently invited guest artist and instructor, Matthew has worked with students and performers who have performed in numerous Broadway productions and national tours such as Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, Parade, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Parade, Girl From the North Country, Matilda, Annie, Les Misérables, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Harvey, Sunset Boulevard, Hairspray, Swing!, Rent, Spamalot, The Color Purple, Ain't Too Proud, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and New York, New York.

 

Matthew is extremely grateful and humbled to have traveled the world as an educator, scholar, and artist. He has traveled internationally leading study abroad students, presenting research at academic conferences, and performing. His recent journeys included Canada, The Bahamas, England, Ireland, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Mexico. He has also been an invited lecturer, speaker, and performer for programs in Germany, Ecuador, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, Poland, and Greece.

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Matthew is passionate about community and giving back. He has won multiple awards for his musical work with various charities. He is a frequent volunteer for charities, non-profits, and organizations devoted to such topics as homelessness, veterans, arts education, bullying, hunger needs, hospital patients, and the elderly suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.