Our Conductors
Bryon Eckenrode
Conductor/cellist, Bryan Eckenrode, graduated cum laude from SUNY at Stony Brook and holds a Master of Music degree from SUNY at Buffalo.
Eckenrode is conductor and music director of the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra in Pennsylvania and the Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony, the Prelude Strings Orchestra, and the Young Artists’ Orchestra of Jamestown.
He is currently principal cello with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Erie Philharmonic, and with Ars Nova.
He is principal cello with the Bach and Beyond Festival and records with the International Baroque Soloists. He is a member of the Lexington String Quartet, and the chamber groups Voci d’Amore and Camerata.
He can be heard on the CDs of many artists, including Ani DiFranco, 10,000 Maniacs, Sixpence None the Richer, Seven Day Faith, Them Jazzbeards, John and Mary, and Alison Pipitone: not only as a cellist, but as a bagpiper and flutist.
Eckenrode is on the music faculty at the renowned Nichols School in Buffalo. He is married to the internationally acclaimed soprano, Cristen Gregory.
Matthew Bassett
Matthew Bassett became Principal Timpanist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2009. In addition to his duties with the BPO, he maintains a busy schedule as a conductor, performer, and educator in western New York and beyond.
As a conductor, Mr. Bassett has prepared and directed many premiere performances, including works by Greg D’Alessio, Carl Schimmel, and Monica Houghton. In 2013, Matt conducted the Buffalo Chamber Players in a presentation of two operas based on the writings of W.B. Yeats; The following year, he conducted many of his BPO colleagues in an orchestra performance to benefit the First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo.
Highlights of Matt’s performance career have included serving as principal timpanist for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Wellington, New Zealand; performing as percussion soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Canton Symphony; and participating in the U.S. premiere performance of Four4 by John Cage at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City with the composer in attendance. Since 1993, he has been principal timpanist & percussionist with Apollo’s Fire (The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra). Matt can be heard on numerous commercial recordings with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Mr. Bassett operates a home business repairing and refurbishing percussion instruments and equipment. He also re-wraps timpani mallets for professional and amateur performers, and prepares calfskin timpani heads for professional performers and orchestras. Matt resides in Buffalo with his daughter and his partner Kathleen Bassett, a music educator, choral conductor, and vocal soloist.
