Matthew Smith is an accomplished Boston-based cellist known for his engaging solo and chamber performances.

As Co-Artistic Director of Palaver Strings, a musician-led chamber orchestra, Matthew has performed with world-class musicians in venues across the U.S. Palaver’s most recent album, A Change is Gonna Come, was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2024. Alongside Palaver, Matthew has performed at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Festival, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. As a soloist and chamber musician he has performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and across China with his long time collaborative duo partner, Peipei Song, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and at the Tianjin Conservatory.

In addition to his performing career, Matthew is a passionate educator. For seven years, he served as the Managing Director of Education for Palaver Strings where he spearheaded the development and design of the Palaver Music Center in Portland, Maine - an early childhood music and string training program for youth. Matthew also teaches graduate courses at the Longy School of Music at Bard College in Cambridge, MA. His talents as a teaching artist have been recognized through his appointment as a Music Educator and Teaching Artist Fellow by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Matthew has been fortunate enough to collaborate with a wide variety of musicians across many different genres. His most influential teachers include his mentors, Andrew Mark, Thomas Landschoot, Emmanuel Feldman and the musicians of the St. Lawrence and Brentano String Quartets. He received his Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and his Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University.