Matt Cook is a GRAMMY® Award-winning percussionist, educator, and arts leader whose career spans the worlds of performance, recording, and arts administration. Since 2023, he has served as Artistic and Executive Director of the award-winning Sierra Madre Playhouse, a century-old cultural hub in Southern California presenting more than 70 programs annually across theater, music, dance, film, and family programming. Under his leadership, the Playhouse has expanded its artistic reach while achieving major institutional milestones—including securing the largest grant in the Playhouse’s history and launching transformative facility upgrades. At the same time, Cook has built a distinguished international reputation as a percussionist. A founding member of the GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, he helped define a new standard for percussion chamber music, with the group’s 2012 album Rupa-Khanda earning three GRAMMY® nominations. He has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Wild Up, PARTCH, and the California E.A.R. Unit, performing on leading experimental music series and at major festivals across the country. His work as a recording artist is heard on film and television soundtracks—including Aquaman and multiple Netflix series—as well as on labels such as Sono Luminus, NAXOS, and Bridge Records. Cook’s versatility extends to drum set and world percussion, collaborating with pop, folk, and jazz artists and contributing to major theater productions and studio sessions. His performances have ranged from intimate chamber concerts to large-scale symphonic and cross-genre projects, establishing him as a dynamic voice in contemporary percussion. An in-demand educator, Cook has been a featured clinician at Stanford University, The Colburn School, and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and he has led masterclasses for the Percussive Arts Society and the American Composers Jazz Institute. He currently serves on the faculty at Fullerton College and has designed curricula for both university programs and K–12 initiatives, helping students earn placements in top conservatories and honor ensembles nationwide. Originally from Atlanta, Cook holds a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, and a certificate in marketing strategy from Cornell University. He is a proud Yamaha Performing Artist and endorser for Innovative Percussion, REMO, Black Swamp Percussion, and Sabian.
Cook lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, balancing his dual passions for expanding cultural access through the Sierra Madre Playhouse and continuing to perform, record, and inspire as one of today’s most versatile percussionists.