Long Bio
Matthew Denman
Educator • Composer • Arts Leader • Visionary Builder
Matthew Denman is a guitarist, composer, and educator who believes in the power of music to connect people, build community, and create something lasting.
Denman is Associate Professor of Guitar at Oklahoma City University and founder of the Leyenda Foundation, which runs the Celedonio Romero, Charlie Christian, and John Knowles guitar institutes, the Spark youth initiative, Vásquez Dance, and an artist-first record label. The Leyenda Convention began 13 years ago as a classical guitar institute and now brings together classical, jazz, flamenco, and fingerstyle artists each year in Oklahoma City.
Leyenda is growing. In October 2026, Leyenda Elementa launches with the Zurich Fall Guitar Fest, in collaboration with the Swiss Guitar Society. In February 2027, the first Celedonio Romero Guitar Weekend comes to San Diego, a satellite of the weeklong Institute in Oklahoma City.
A protégé of Pepe Romero, Denman founded the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute in partnership with Romero, in honor of his father. He previously served as Director of Education for the Guitar Foundation of America and received the GFA/Augustine Award for Excellence in Guitar Education. He is a Grammy Music Educator Award quarterfinalist and gave the keynote at Austin Classical Guitar's National Teacher Training. He has been featured twice in Soundboard, the journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, in a 2013 cover story on the Classen SAS guitar program and a 2023 feature interview, and in Bill Swick's Building an Award-Winning Guitar Program.
As a performer and conductor, Denman has appeared across the US, Europe, and Asia. In August 2026 he performed his own works and conducted the closing guitar ensemble at the Silk Road Strings Xinjiang Guitar Art Week in Ürümqi, China. He has given masterclasses and presentations at the Lake Constance Guitar Research Symposium, the Vorarlberg State Conservatory in Austria, Beijing Central Conservatory, and CHAMBERart Madrid. In fall 2026, his Unconventional Tour brings concerts, masterclasses, and lectures to Zurich, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, the Buffalo Guitar Festival, Juilliard, and Ezra Guitar in Brooklyn.
His students have won top prizes at the Eastman Concerto, GFA, and Haire competitions. Former students include Colin Deibert (University of Central Oklahoma), Carey Morrow (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), Collin Holloway, Audrey Oden, and Henry Dillon of Surf Curse and Current Joys. Emerging artists from his studio include Damian Goggans, Chris Unzicker, Austin Keller, Kenneth Bender, and Benji Scheckner.
His compositions, including Wolves of Winter, are published by Les Productions d'Oz.
Short Bio
Matthew Denman is a guitarist, composer, and educator, and Associate Professor of Guitar at Oklahoma City University. A protégé of Pepe Romero, he founded the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute and the Leyenda Foundation, which presents institutes, festivals, and recordings in Oklahoma City, Zurich, and San Diego. He is a recipient of the GFA/Augustine Award for Excellence in Guitar Education and a former Director of Education for the Guitar Foundation of America. He has performed and taught across the US, Europe, and Asia, and his compositions are published by Les Productions d'Oz.