Matt Savage
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- For the poker tournament director, see Matt Savage (poker). For the actor and keyboardist see Matt Savage (musician).
Matthew "Matt" Savage (born 1992) is an American autistic savant musician. Born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,[1] he is the son of Diane and Lawrence "Larry" Savage.[2]
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[edit] Background
Matt was a precocious infant who walked early and learned to read by age 18 months.[3] He was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism, at age three.[4] Matt did not like any noises or music during his early childhood[5] At age six, Matt taught himself to read piano music.[6] He studied classical piano for less than a year before discovering jazz, which became his main focus. He began studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the fall of 1999. He continued his classical studies as well. He and his younger sister, Rebecca,[6] are both home schooled.[2] Among Matt's talents are hyperlexia[1]and perfect pitch.[7] Coupled with his extremely high intelligence, these abilities have allowed him to achieve other distinctions as well, such as winning a statewide geography bee.[2]
Despite his young age and his autism, and even without formal instruction in musical composition,[7] Matt is an accomplished musician and composer. He has released several albums, both as a solo performer and as part of the Matt Savage Trio. By the age of 14, he had also performed with Chaka Khan and other popular singers.[8] Matt's compositions tend toward the technical, but they are still very approachable and often humorous.
Matt has received many awards, including being signed in 2003 to Bösendorfer pianos. He is the only child to be so recognized in the company's 175-year history.
Matt has toured the world, performing for heads of state and others, and appearing on numerous television and radio programs such as Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, and All Things Considered. In 2006, at age 14, he was featured on a CNN report about the human brain, in which he was defined as a "prodigious savant," as opposed to the other types of savants.[8] Matt has also appeared in several documentaries about savants.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Pine, Dan. "Autistic jazz prodigy already playing with greats", The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, 16 September 2005
- ^ a b c Morrow, Marsha. "N.H. geography champ" Monadnock Ledger, 8 April 2004. (cached webpage)
- ^ Savants, Discovery Channel documentary, 2003.
- ^ Jones, Chad. "13-year-old Matt Savage has autism and a genius for jazz", InsideBayArea.com, 21 September 2005.
- ^ Silberman, Steve. "The Key to Genius", Wired, December 2003, page 229
- ^ a b Massimo, Rick. "N.H. pianist, 13, considers autism one of his strengths", Providence Journal, 23 October 2005.
- ^ a b "Pianist Matt Savage", All Things Considered, 24 April 2002.
- ^ a b Genius: Quest for Extreme Brain Power, September 17, 2006, CNN program hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website — contains a biography, press coverage, tour information, and store
- Profile of Matt Savage and other savants at Wisconsin Medical Society — includes videos of the Matt Savage Trio and an excerpt from the documentary Expedition ins Gehirn (Beautiful Minds: A Voyage Into the Brain)
