Matt Barker, trumpet
***Seasons with BSO: 7
***Hometown: Columbia, MD
***Age Started Playing Trumpet: 12 (piano at 5)
***Favorite Restaurant In Baltimore: Miss Shirley’s is a favorite for breakfast, Sotto Sopra is a favorite for dinner!
***Favorite Food: Indian food, sushi, Mexican food and cheesecake – maybe not all on the same evening though 
***Favorite Composer: Always a tough question! The magnificence and breadth of Mahler’s symphonies is always a joy to play, but ultimately the Russian composers Shostakovich and Prokofiev take the cake for me. One time on a road trip from Chicago to Houston, my mom and I listened to nearly every Shostakovich symphony back to back.
***Favorite Non-Musical Activity: I love spending time with my wife, Alicia, and our growing army of (currently 3) children. Gaming has always been a fun hobby after the kids are in bed.
***Memory of BSO Audition: I remember feeling like a little kid when I first won my position as a 23 year old in a section of “adults” haha. Little did I know these guys would become my best buds!
***Concert this Season You’re Most Excited About: Excited to play Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony on the same program. I’ll be on 3rd trumpet for both these pieces, and it’s some of the biggest parts in all the “utility trumpet” rep! Lots of audition excerpts throughout!
***Pets: Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is 7 years old and will literally do anything for food.
***Embarrassing Moments Onstage: One December we had a Saturday afternoon nutcracker performance that I happen to be splitting principal trumpet with Rene Shapiro – I was programmed on the second half. Long story short, I thought it was a typical Saturday NIGHT performance, so I raced downtown as soon as I noticed my error – about 45 min into the concert. I arrived right after Rene covered the virtuosic “Chocolate” solo in the second half for me – Thanks again Rene!!!
***Fondest Musical Memory: Who can forget when the BSO got to play at the BBC Proms in London? Playing under John Williams is a close second.
***Favorite Violinist: Come hear Mahler 5 this season! My favorite violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley is performing his concerto on the first half, and he’s my favorite violinist in the world.