Matthew D. Dufresne is the Chairperson of the Music Department at Holly Academy, where he also serves as General Music teacher, director of bands, and leader of the Academy Art Ensemble.
Dufresne is active as a woodwind specialist performing Jazz, Rock, and World Music in a variety of ensembles.
Dufresne has performed multiple times at the Detroit Jazz Festival as a soloist with Regina Carter and the Oakland University Big Band and the UM-Flint Steelheads. Matt has twice performed with Andy Narrell, once on saxophone and once on lead pan with Narrell in April 2014. He has performed numerous times at Flint Jazz Festival with the Ben Schlatter Quartet and The Smooth Operation Project. In April 2015 Dufresne performed with The Unique Jazz Ensemble featuring Sangeetha Rathnakara Sudha Raghunathan, U. Rajesh, Mark Stone, Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan and Haruna Walusimbi at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. Matt performed again in March 2016 at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival in A Jazz-Carnatic Collaboration, featuring Padma Shri awardee Aruna Sairam, Mark Stone and Maya Azucena. In February of 2016, Matt performed on a reunion tour with Cleveland’s Craw, a math rock band from the post-hardcore movement of the 1990’s. Matt has performed several more times at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival including 2019, and most recently in April 2023, Matt was a featured performer in A Carnatic-Jazz Fusion with Rajhesh Vaidya, Sangeetha Kala Sagaram K.N. Shashikiran, Sangeetha Kala Sagaram P. Ganesh, B.V. Raghavendra Rao, Praveen Sparsh, Sai Hari, and Mark Stone. Matt’s main group is The Stone Sound Collective led by Guba Mark Stone. He also plays regularly with the Rock bands JFQ Quartet and The Rhythm Kings, the Smooth Operation Project, and two big bands, The Soggy Bottom Big Band and the Tom Allport Band.
Dufresne’s performing career includes time spent in Cleveland as a freelance musician performing with such groups as Craw, Robert Ocasio’s Latin Jazz Project, the Salsa-Merengue band Cowakhan, the Funk band Mad Beats, Impacto Nuevo, and other Latin and Jazz ensembles.
Dufresne has studied jazz saxophone and piano with a variety of national jazz masters, including Tim Price, Eric Alexander, Jim Snidero, Dan Haerle, David Baker, and Pat Harbison. Detroit jazz musicians Miles Brown, Scott Gwinnell, and Walter White have played an integral part in his development. Dufresne has studied saxophone with Donald Sinta and improvisation with Ed Sarath at the University of Michigan. Matt currently studies nadaswaram with Shri Subhan Kasim of India.
Dufresne’s awards include the 2013 MaTilDa from Oakland University for Jazz and the University of Michigan-Flint’s highest distinction as recipient of the 2005 Maize and Blue Award for Distinguished Scholarship.
Dufresne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan-Flint and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Oakland University.
Photographer: Remi Thornton