Photo credit: Josy Gonzalo

Mathew Arrellín (pronounced: A-rre-yín), born in El Paso, Texas in 1993, is a composer and cellist currently based in Chicago. He is the founder of the Sound Painters Studio, where he mentors developing composers in a virtual masterclass setting. Composers who join will gain clarity on how to build their music in layers like a painting so they never suffer creative blocks again. Mathew’s top priority is member growth through detailed feedback, the support of a community, and sharing relevant historical or theoretical knowledge that can be applied in practical ways. If you’re a composer that’s serious about taking your music to the next level, book a FREE call today!

He has written solo, chamber works, and orchestral, which have been performed by Ensemble Dal Niente, the Mivos Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, Chicago Composers Orchestra, ~Nois, the Low Frequency Trio, the Fonema Consort, New Music New Mexico, Ben Roidl-Ward, and himself, among others. His music has been performed in festivals such as the Valencia International Performance Academy (VIPA, 2016), June in Buffalo (2018), and the SCI National Conference (2019). 

​Mathew has taught courses at Northwestern, including as first year aural skills and music theory, class composition for majors and non-majors, and in the Spring of 2020, he taught a general music class of his own design titled “Music and the Visual Arts,” which explored the historical and conceptual intersections between the two disciplines.

Mathew holds a bachelor’s degree in music theory, composition, and cello performance from the University of New Mexico, where his cello teacher was David Schepps and his composition teacher was José-Luis Hurtado. He received his PhD in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University in 2022 where he studied with Jay Alan Yim, Alex Mincek, and Hans Thomalla. He is currently a lecturer in Music Theory at Northwestern.