Award-winning concert saxophonist and pedagogue Matthew Younglove has performed concerts and recitals across the United States, France, Croatia, and the UK. He currently serves on the faculty of Tennessee Tech University as Assistant Professor of Saxophone. Additionally, he has served on the faculties of the Wayne State University and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He was formerly the Chamber Music Competitions Coordinator for the Michigan Chapter (MMTA) of MTNA.

Younglove is a Presser Scholar and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance studying with the Charles J. Mungo Award-winning Distinguished Professor Clifford Leaman. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree specializing in contemporary music from Bowling Green State University where he was the saxophone teaching assistant for Distinguished Research/Artist Professor John Sampen, and a Masters of Music degree in saxophone performance from Northwestern University, where he studied with Frederick Hemke, the former Louis and Elsie Snydacker Eckstein Professor of Saxophone. He studied jazz improvisation with Bert Ligon and Kevin Jones.

As an expert interpreter of contemporary music, Younglove has commissioned and/or premiered works by many composers, including Jon Anderson, Matthew Browne, Ian Dicke, George Fetner, Simon Fink, Claudio Gabriele, Kurt Isaacson, Girard Kratz, Joel Love, David Maslanka, Marc Mellits, Elise Roy, Chris Rutkowski, Baljinder Sekhon, Marilyn Shrude, Carlos Simon, Benjamin Taylor, Gregory Wanamaker, Amy Williams, and Eric Wubbels.

He has performed with ensembles such as the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Flint Symphony Orchestra, Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra, South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed with the Bowling Green State University Wind Symphony, Wayne State University Wind Symphony, Minot Symphony Orchestra, Florence (SC) Symphony Orchestra, Motor City Symphony Orchestra, International Symphony Orchestra, Wayne State University Symphony Orchestra, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the University of Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Wayne State University Concert Band, and the Warren (MI) Concert Band.

Dr. Younglove has been invited as guest artist, clinician, and/or adjudicator at several colleges and universities across the country such as University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Minot State University, University of North Carolina – Greensboro, University of Tennessee, Lawrence University, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Oakland University (MI), Howard Payne University, Tarleton State University, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Art and Humanities, Western Carolina University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Mississippi.

Younglove’s recent research, culminating in publication as a dissertation, explores the intersection of free-jazz improvisation and contemporary classical music, specifically in new works for the saxophone by composers Alex Mincek and Eric Wubbels of the NYC-based Wet Ink Ensemble. His research examines how the saxophone music of these two composers explores the uses of repetitive structures and extended techniques as influenced by free-jazz improvisers (i.e. Bunky Green, Ornette Coleman, Evan Parker, and Tyshawn Sorey) and provides a performers reference for many of the difficult combinations of extended techniques.

As a member of the award-winning Assembly Quartet he frequently tours the US and abroad performing concerts and engaging in educational outreach performances. Matthew Younglove is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician, playing Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces, and a Conn-Selmer Artist Clinician, playing Selmer (Paris) saxophones exclusively. He can be heard on the AMP label.