MCS hires a new director of music

By Reader Staff

Spring is a time for new beginnings, and that is true for Sandpoint’s local school of performing arts. The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint recently announced a new face, Dr. Matt Goodrich, as incoming director of music and part of the MCS Piano Department. Outgoing Director of Music John Fitzgerald is also heading on to a new beginning, as he pursues his doctorate.

Goodrich is new to Sandpoint and the conservatory. 

Dr. Matt Goodrich at the piano. Courtesy photo.

“He brings a wealth of experience and energy that will certainly be felt by students at MCS,” the organization stated. 

Goodrich is a graduate of Oberlin College Conservatory and earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington under the direction of Robin McCabe. An active chamber music and theatrical performer, Goodrich has enjoyed long associations with acclaimed performing groups such as Pacific Northwest Ballet and Oregon Shakespeare Festival based in Ashland, Ore. With the Harrington-Goodrich Piano Duo, Goodrich performs Parisian fin-de-siècle repertoire for two pianos throughout the West. He also holds faculty positions at Southern Oregon University and the music conservatories of Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene.

According to MCS, “Dr. Goodrich is in constant demand throughout the Pacific Northwest division of Music Teachers National Association for his expertise in training teachers and performers to approach their art in a holistic, healthy and persuasive way, having refined these skills for several decades through more than 2,000 performances approached in such a manner.” 

Goodrich holds Alexander Technique International teaching certification and is a founding member of the Integrative Alexander Technique Circle. He is editor for the biannual journal ExChange and has taught movement reeducation and performance skills to university students, teachers associations and international congresses for almost 10 years, and is eager to share this information with the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint community. 

“I am honored to be taking over the music director post at our remarkable conservatory,” Goodrich stated. “The community has welcomed me with open arms, and I am so excited to add to our teachers’ tool boxes myriad advanced performance skills that will keep our students healthy and give them a competitive advantage wherever their music making leads them.”