Matt Riley (b. 1982) is an award-winning composer and arranger based in Minneapolis, MN. His work spans a wide range of genres and formats, including original compositions for radio and TV commercials, orchestrations for television (including NBC's The Voice), scores for documentary films, and hundreds of arrangements for churches and recording artists.

His achievements include multiple selections on JW Pepper's Editor's Choice list and various state and festival lists. In 2019, he won the SMP Press Composition Competition in two categories. His music has been featured at major conferences and events such as the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention, the University Interscholastic League, and the American String Teachers Association (ASTA).

Matt's pop-classical arrangements and original compositions are performed thousands of times each year by orchestras on six continents, in theaters, churches, and schools around the world. His music was featured at Madison Square Garden in two concerts during Andrea Bocelli's 2019 Christmas tour. Other notable performances include those at Carnegie Hall and by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Vienna Imperial Philharmonics, Italy's RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, the U.S. Marine Band, the Canadian Royal 22nd Regiment Band, the San Diego Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Columbus Symphony, and The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka. His arrangement of Amazing Grace was also performed at the Canadian national funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Matt is a member of ASCAP.

Matt’s philosophy for music: “I want to move and inspire audiences and musicians alike with my music. My mission in life is to share things that I find beautiful, moving, awe-inspiring, euphoric, and sublime with the world. I am not a particularly eloquent person, so I choose to do this through the language of music. My hope is that every performance of my music is a memorable, powerful, and emotionally connective experience between the performers and listeners. 

Some of my pieces may be difficult to master but I believe that when musicians love what they are playing, they will rise to the challenge. For conductors, one of the most important things about leading an ensemble is that you engage with your musicians about playing music that they love. Once you start engaging students in this way, they start practicing more and they start playing their instruments more musically. The difficulty level of a piece of music doesn’t matter as much when they love the music that they are learning. 

My goal for every piece I write is that it would be a challenging yet rewarding experience marked with growth on their instrument ultimately culminating in a performance that connects with the audience on a deep level."