Matthew Daley, a doctoral student at USC Thornton School of Music, received a standing ovation after his performance at the 14th Annual President’s Day Organ Festival’ sponsored by the American Guild of Organist.
At the event, Daley played Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Partite diverse sopra: Sei Gegrusset, Jesu Gutig”(BWV 768) on a huge pipe organ. The audience responded with loud cheers of “Bravissimo!”
The excited listeners included observers several of Daley’s fellow USC music students and members of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organist. His instructor at USC, Dr. Cherry Rhodes, was also on hand to witness his performance.
Daley earned his Master’s degree from Yale University. He also received both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from University of Maryland, College Park, studying under Dr. Larissa Dedova.
In addition to being a USC doctoral student, he serves as minister of music at Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles. Previously, he held positions as organist at New England-area churches including Calvary Baptist Church, National Presbyterian Church, and New Haven Seventh Day Adventist Church.