MATTHEW DENMAN
Guitarist · Composer · Educator
Matthew Denman is a guitarist, composer, and educator who believes in the power of music to connect people, build community, and create something lasting.
WHY I BELIEVE IN MUSIC
Recently featured as the keynote speaker at Austin Classical Guitar's National Teacher Training, Matthew shares the experience that shaped his belief in the power of music and community.
Read transcript: Why I Believe in Music I'm going to talk about what changed my life and what made music and community what they are to me. My mother was sick and needed a heart transplant. It's a pretty extreme thing, right? And when the organ becomes available, it's instantaneous. There's a limited amount of time to make what needs to happen happen. I was in Texas visiting family when the heart became available. People came and picked me up from Oklahoma, and I made it back to University Hospital in Oklahoma City at 2 o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday. The doctors weren't trying to sugarcoat anything. They talked about the chances, and they were already talking about where I was going to live if things didn't work out. I got in the elevator. I went up to the ninth floor. The ninth-floor door was open. I was very tired. I was very scared. I was pretty numb. And I walked in and heard a cappella music. I thought, Well, this is full circle. I have totally gone insane. As we walked the halls and the corridors, the sound got louder, and we made it to the waiting room. The waiting room was standing room only. There were actually people out in the hallways, and they were singing four-part harmony. They stopped. They formed a line. I got 50 hugs. I made it to the end of that line of hugs, and my sister was there. She's like, "Matt, Mom has just woken up. And the first thing she asked for was you." So I went into that hospital room. There were all of these machines. You couldn't even see my mom. There was so much beeping. There were so many tubes. I remember walking in. I remember being able to hold my mother's hand and her squeezing mine. I've looked back on that moment in my life more than any other thing that has ever happened to me. Because what I think about is how I felt before and how I felt after. Before was the worst day of my life. Before was absolute fear and terror and torture, and thinking that my life was over. And it felt unbelievably lonely. And then I remember afterward—in just five minutes—feeling peace, feeling love, being comforted. So when I think about music and I think about community, I think about that. And when I think about what music should be and what it should do, that's what I think it should do.
“Matthew Denman’s commanding technique and highly expressive stage presence immersed the audience… He then conducted the guitar ensemble in a climactic close that brought the concert to its peak.”
— Xinjiang Daily, China
“It was a magnetic and captivating atmosphere of introspection throughout the whole concert. The audience was spellbound and fascinated by this unique concert experience.”
— Augustin Wiedemann, Stella Vorarlberg Privathochschule für Musik, Austria
“Matthew Denman’s music conveyed the vastness of the land and a profound reverence for nature, filled with the dramatic tension and narrative power of contemporary guitar music.”
— Asia Central Times
REVIEWS
Matthew Denman
Guitarist • Composer • Educator • Arts Leader
A prominent pedagogue and artistic visionary of his generation, musician Matthew Denman has been entrusted with enduring legacies, manifested through the Celedonio Romero, Charlie Christian, and John Knowles institutes, and extended into community through youth initiatives (Spark), Vásquez Dance, and an artist-first label at the Leyenda Foundation.
What began 13 years ago as a selective classical guitar institute has grown into an international celebration of music, artistry and collaboration.
The Leyenda Convention, led by OCU music professor Matt Denman, now brings together world-class artists, educators and emerging creators across classical guitar, jazz, flamenco, music education and youth outreach. With its growing “living room” atmosphere, Leyenda creates a unique space where artists from different generations and disciplines can learn from one another—and where unexpected collaborations can happen.
From the legendary Romero family to the legacy of jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, Leyenda is helping put Oklahoma City on the map as an emerging destination for guitar performance and education. More than a convention, it is becoming an international arts incubator dedicated to connecting legendary masters with the next generation of creators.
Discover the story behind Leyenda’s remarkable evolution and the vision driving its future.
Strumming up a movement
by Rod Jones | June 2026
“I consider my time studying with Matt Denman to be the catalyst that set in motion a lifelong passion and curiosity for musical learning. In his students, Matt inspires a dedication to the rigorous discipline required to advance the technical craft of playing the guitar, while still encouraging and emphasizing the importance of patience with oneself and trust in one’s own developmental process.
He respects and champions the sacred, mysterious nature of music and is curious to explore all territories of experience that music can stimulate — from the emotional to the spiritual, and beyond. Matt exudes an inexhaustible kindness and compassion that touches all he comes in contact with. He is a profound light and a masterful teacher.”
— Henry Dillon, band member and creative collaborator with Surf Curse and Current Joys
“This institute exists because we have someone like Matt Denman, who shares the soul and spirit of my father. In Matt, we found the perfect partner — the true essence of who my father was and is.”
— Pepe Romero, legendary guitarist of Los Romeros,
“The Royal Family of the Guitar”
[Read Pepe’s full words → Publications & Press]
Wolves of Winter (Matthew Denman)
An advanced solo guitar work inspired by the stark beauty and wildlife of Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. With shifting textures and evocative sonorities, the piece captures both the stillness and raw energy of nature in winter.
Published by Les Productions d’OZ (DZ 4321). Available through Les Productions d’OZ, Strings By Mail, and Fick’s Music.
Program Note – Wolves of Winter
Wolves of Winter was inspired by my time in Yellowstone National Park, particularly the Lamar Valley where wolves are often seen moving across the snow. The piece reflects the stillness of winter landscapes, the hidden tension of survival, and the haunting beauty of wildlife in its natural environment. It is meant as both a meditation on nature’s fragility and a reminder of our responsibility to conserve what we love and understand.