Norman Mathews composes for symphony orchestra, the concert stage, musical theatre, as well as jazz and cabaret performers. His work has been performed at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and at concert halls around the world. Rossetti Songs, a five-song cycle to Christina Rossetti poems and composed for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello, and piano, will be released in April 2010 by Navona Records and distributed by Naxos. The piece is part of a vocal-chamber music CD, which will include works by David del Tredici. Songs of the Poet, Mathews’s song cycle composed to Walt Whitman poetry, was recorded for Capstone Records by Munich Opera tenor Gregory Wiest. Songs from the cycle were performed in a program entitled Whitman and Music, a presentation of The American Composers Orchestra. His song The Last Invocation received the Recognition of Excellence award at the Fifth Diana Barnhart American Art Song Competition in 2003, judged by composer John Harbison and tenor Paul Sperry. His music is published by Graphite Publishing.

Mathews’s one-person musical theatre piece, You Might As Well Live, based on the poetry and life of Dorothy Parker, has been performed by Tony-Award winner Michele Pawk and Broadway star Karen Mason, at The Chicago Humanities Festival, The Orlando Shakespeare Fesstival, The New York Musical Theatre Festival, and other venues.

Mathews holds both B.A. and M.A. degrees in music. His composition and orchestration teachers have included Richard Danielpour, Richard Hundley, and Charles Turner.