Matthew Kilby is an educator and performer in North Charleston, South Carolina.

He is currently Associate Band Director and Percussion Instructor at Fort Dorchester High School, where he won Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2019. He also assists with the Gateway Program, teaching gifted and talented young percussionists in Dorchester School District 2.

Matthew earned his Masters at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and his Bachelor of Music with Honors from UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina (Honors Thesis: A Musical Approach to Marimba Education: Incorporating Global History and Folkloric Repertoire). He has studied with Kevin Bobo, Steve Houghton, Michael Spiro, John Tafoya, Dr. Juan Alamo, Dan Davis, Dr. N. Cameron Britt, and Dr. Joe Galvin.

At IU, Matthew was principal of the Wind Ensemble, played in several of the orchestras, and was the timbale player for IU’s Latin Jazz Ensemble. Matthew was an Associate Instructor under Michael Spiro, teaching group conga lessons to graduate and undergraduate percussionists, non-major percussion students, and was the teaching assistant for the Afro-Cuban Ensemble and Brazilian Ensemble.

At UNC, Matthew played snare drum with the Marching Tar Heels, was the winner of the wind ensemble’s concerto competition, and was president of the orchestra committee and of the undergraduate music forum. In the summers, Matthew marched snare drum for Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps (2012, 2013).

In Charleston, Matthew regularly performs with Gino Castillo and the Cuban Cowboys and also produces his own recordings under the name M. Kilby, which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and elsewhere.