Written by: Anaya Parker
On Thursday, Sept. 26, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera (CSO) played a composition written by a Southern Adventist University student.
The piece, “Atlantic Overture,” was written by Matthew Kimbley, senior piano performance and music theory and literature major.
Kimbley began learning to play the piano when he was age 5. He said it was only a few months later that he began composing music. His parents were in a meeting at church, and in boredom, he began to write.
“I just [started] writing notes on the page,” Kimbley said. “None of them really sounded very good, but I mean, hey, I at least knew what they were sounding like while writing them down.”
“It was just something that I enjoyed doing after that. Five years later, in that same church, we performed my first hymn arrangement,” he said.
Kimbley said he kept writing music throughout middle school and high school, a practice he continued at Southern. His love of music led him to choose it as his major and further develop his composing skills. He wrote “The Pursuit of Happiness” for Southern’s Wind Symphony and initially, “Atlantic Overture” was composed for Southern’s Symphony Orchestra. Both pieces were performed in the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists.
In November of 2023, Kimbley attended a CSO concert featuring a composition by a young composer. He was impressed and considered his own aspirations for his compositions.
“Wow, you know, what would it take to get a work performed by a professional orchestra like this in 10 years’ time?”
He set a goal to have a composition performed by a professional orchestra in 10 years, and he reached that goal in just 10 months.
Josh Holritz, associate concertmaster for the CSO and adjunct professor in Southern’s School of Music, heard Kimbley’s composition when his wife, Kristen Holritz, was a soloist for the Southern Symphony Orchestra’s second performance of “Atlantic Overture” at the Jewish Community Center in Chattanooga, according to Kimbley.
Initially, a different soloist was supposed to perform with the university’s symphony, but because of some complications, Kristen Holritz performed with them. Without this change, Holritz may not have heard Kimbley’s piece, according to Kimbley.
“If I didn’t have God in my life, I would have put it down to complete chance,” Kimbley said. “And a very, very, very slim chance at that.”
A few weeks after Josh Holritz heard his composition, he told Kimbley he was interested in seeing if the CSO could perform it. Kimbley assumed this was only a kind gesture and was surprised when he received an email from the CSO saying the orchestra wanted to do his piece.
“Again, if I didn’t believe in God, I would have said that was winning the lottery right there,” Kimbley said. “But, you know, I feel like there’s no other place to direct that [gratitude] than to God.”
Kimbley was able to attend two rehearsals before the performance to give feedback to the ensemble. He also had a few private discussions with the conductor about ideas for the piece.
“He had a very different approach to the piece from my own,” said Kimbley, “so we were able to work out ideas and come up with solutions that were satisfactory for both of us.”
After all the time and work that was put in, Kimbley was very pleased with Thursday night’s CSO performance of “Atlantic Overture.”
In a text to the Accent, Amy Van Arsdell, senior history and Spanish major, who played “Atlantic Overture” with Southern’s symphony orchestra last year, said she could feel the support for Kimbley in the audience.
“The overture’s lush melodies have been stuck in my head ever since the concert,” Van Arsdell said.
She estimated that around 35 Southern students attended the concert on Thursday evening. Several members of Southern’s staff also attended, including Laurie Cadwallader, director of Southern’s symphony orchestra, and Southern President Ken Shaw.
“We were proud to cheer for our talented friend in his big moment,” Van Arsdell said. “Some of us even got him to sign our programs! Several of our music teachers play in the CSO, so it’s always fun to support them, but getting to hear our friend’s piece made this concert extra special.”
“The conductor had an incredible vision for the piece, and the orchestra sounded fantastic,” Kimbley said. “I am extremely honored and blessed to have this experience, and I am grateful for the opportunities that this has opened for the future.”
Above all else, Kimbley said his most important goal is for his music to guide people to Jesus. He believes his pieces touch lives.
“What I always find impactful is when people are, you know, able to share stories with me about how much my music blessed them,” Kimbley said. “The biggest satisfaction that I get in it is when people are directed to God.”
