Bio

Matthew Clifford Haislip (b. 1985) is a hornist, teacher, and composer currently living in Starkville, Mississippi, where he serves as the Assistant Professor of Horn at Mississippi State University. In this role, he teaches applied horn lessons, ear training, and online courses in music appreciation. He also conducts the MSU Horn Choir, performs in the Faculty Brass Quintet, and serves as Principal Horn of the Starkville Symphony Orchestra. He is additionally Fourth Horn of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra and Third Horn of the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He regularly offers free clinics to build relationships with the wonderful students and teachers in the region. He serves the International Horn Society as the Mississippi Area Coordinator. He is additionally the hornist and a founding member of Quintasonic Brass. Prior to joining the faculty of Mississippi State University, he served on the faculties of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and Calvary University in Kansas City, Missouri. During the summer months, he serves as Instructor of Horn and Co-Principal Horn at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan, where he has enjoyed working with hundreds of junior high school and high school aged campers from across the United States and from as far away as Germany and France for eleven summers. His articles have been published by the International Horn Society, British Horn Society, and The Bandworld. 

Matthew holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Horn Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music and Dance. He holds the Master of Music degree in Horn Performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and the Bachelor of Science degree in Music from Texas A&M University-Commerce. His primary horn teachers include Martin Hackleman, Randy Gardner, Michael Morrow, Duane Dugger, Elizabeth Freimuth, and Thomas Sherwood. Dr. Haislip has performed in masterclasses for faculty members from The Juilliard School, Indiana University, and Boston University, as well as for members of such ensembles as the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, the Center City Brass Quintet, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Prior to moving to Kansas City to pursue his doctoral studies, Matthew held the positions of Co-Principal Horn and Personnel Manager of the Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale in Midland, Texas for three seasons. In addition to these duties, he was the hornist of the West Texas Winds, the orchestra's resident wind quintet. He also served as Instructor of Horn at Hardin-Simmons University and at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. He held the positions of Assistant Principal/Utility Horn of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra for two seasons, Fourth/Utility Horn of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra for four seasons, and Principal Horn of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra for the 2014-2015 season. He has performed as a substitute or extra horn with dozens of professional organizations, including the Cincinnati Opera, Opera Naples (FL), Omaha Symphony, Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Huntsville Symphony (AL), Chattanooga Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, San Angelo Symphony, Meridian Symphony, Monroe Symphony (LA), Abilene Opera, Texarkana Symphony, Topeka Symphony, Kinnor Philharmonic (MO), Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony (OH), Saint Joseph Symphony (MO), Springfield Symphony (MO), North East Texas Symphony, Big Spring Symphony, and Lone Star Wind Orchestra (TX), among others. He has also recorded 251 new concert band pieces as principal and section horn from 2022 to 2024 with the Excelcia Wind Band for Excelcia Music Publishing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Haislip participated as a host and as a teacher in masterclass exchanges over Zoom between his MSU horn studio and with the horn professors and studios at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (UK), University of Arizona, West Virginia University, University of Texas Rio Grande, Bowling Green State University, University of Central Florida, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Georgia State University, and the University of Nevada, Reno. 

Quintasonic Brass was a featured guest artist at the 2023 Velikogorički Brass Festival in Zagreb, Croatia and has completed recital tours to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, Morehead State University, Western Illinois University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Tennessee Tech University, Saginaw Valley State University, Oakland University, Hillsdale College, the University of Louisiana, Monroe, Mississippi State University, Kennesaw State University, and at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Haislip has also appeared at the 2021 virtual International Horn Symposium, 2021 International Trumpet Guild Conference, 2021 virtual Jazz Trumpet Festival Brazil, 2021 Mississippi Bandmasters Association Clinic, 2021 virtual Northeast Horn Workshop, 2021 virtual Florida Horn Festival, 2020 Indiana University Pennsylvania/University of North Carolina at Greensboro Horn Day, the 2019 International Fellowship of Conductors, Composers, and Collaborators Symposium at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the 2018 Southeast Horn Workshop at the University of Georgia, the 2017 Music by Women Festival at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi, the 2016 International Horn Symposium at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and the 2016 Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop in Wichita, Kansas. He has performed as a soloist with the Mississippi State University Wind Ensemble, the Starkville-MSU Community Band, the Angelo State University Wind Ensemble (TX), and the Wills Point High School Band (TX). He is a member of the International Horn Society, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, the College Music Society, and Music Teachers National Association.

As a composer, Dr. Haislip studied with Dr. Nebojsa Macura and Dr. Theodore Hansen. Haislip's duet book, Dueling Fundamentals for Two Horns, is published by Mountain Peak Music and has been praised by leading hornists across the world, including prominent faculty members at Northwestern University and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (UK). His new composition, Night Music for two horns and piano, is published by WaveFront Music. Other recent compositions include Rhapsody for oboe, horn, and piano, Celebration Fanfare for horn ensemble, composed for the recital in celebration of Professor Randy Gardner's legacy as the horn professor at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, Ex Aequo, a commissioned work for horn and trombone, Blue October for nine horns, Brass Quintet No. 1 in D major, and Ten Character Studies for Horn, which is published by BrownWood Publishing. His compositions have been performed at the 2022 Southwest Horn Workshop, 2016 International Horn Symposium at Ithaca College (NY) and by performers at Northern Illionis University, University of Central Florida, University of Akron, Mississippi State University, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (MI), Missouri Symphony Orchestra's Hot Summer Nights Music Festival, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Western Carolina University, Stetson University, Horns of Ohio, and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.

Matthew's hobbies include playing chess, collecting CDs/LPs, travelling, visiting museums, Mississippi State athletics, Kansas City Royals baseball, playing the drum set, listening to his favorite band, "Yes”, and spending time with his family and friends, especially with his lovely wife, Dr. Jessica Haislip, oboe professor at Mississippi State University.

Matthew Haislip is a Yamaha Performing Artist.