At 10-years-old, Matt Duncan sang for the first time in front of crowd at his grandmother’s wedding. He sang a song by Christian Artist Steven Curtis Chapman which he dedicated to his grandmother and made her cry. It wasn’t until years later as a senior in High School at Lutheran High North West that Matt would sing for a crowd again.
His friend Michelle asked him to sing ‘A Whole New World? from Disney’s Aladdin for the spring choir concert.
‘The male part was so high that I couldn’t do it in the octave that it was written, I took it down an octave, but that made it sound like a bass solo and that’s not terribly romantic or anything,? said Duncan. ‘I got up on stage with her and she sounded fantastic, and I sang in the octave lower and I totally, totally ruined it. She was so nice and said that I did fine, but I was really disappointed in myself.?
When Duncan’s mother heard her best friend tell her she was putting her daughter into voice training lessons, Lynette Duncan checked into it for Matt. The summer after he graduated he started lessons with voice teacher Frank Pitts, who previously taught at Rochester College.
‘I have always wanted to sing, but I never thought I would actually be pursuing it because I never thought I had a chance. After the voice training I found out how much I really love it,? said Duncan. ‘My mom is really the one who helped me gain my confidence.?
Duncan’s musical inspirations include Josh Groban and Barbra Streisand.
‘She (Barbra Streisand) just seems so free, she moves herself in her music and that’s really an inspiration for me. I want that,? he said.
Duncan first came across Streisand while flipping through the channels one day and saw her singing on PBS
‘She was singing and it was enthralling, and I don’t remember what she was singing, but she was just sitting on a stool gazing off into the distance singing very peacefully,? he said. ‘Then all of the sudden the band started pick up and get a little stronger. She all of the sudden started belting it out, it was absolutely inspiring.?
Duncan said he enjoys singing Italian songs about love.
‘Whenever I pick one out, I always look at the translation because it’s important to me to know what I’m singing,? he said. ‘The ones I really enjoy singing are always the ones that are about love, but it’s not specific. It’s not necessarily to the women of your life; I usually relate it to God, I consider Him to be the love of my life.?
He got into singing Italian songs after picking up a Josh Groban song book and taking it to his voice teacher, where they worked on some of the songs together. Duncan said though the meaning of a song in a foreign language cannot necessarily be understood through the words, the meaning can be felt.
‘I really like that aspect of singing a song in a foreign language. Sometimes the words of an English song can sometimes get in the way, but when you have a song in a foreign language it’s the vowel sounds, it’s the force and the emotion that you put behind it,? he said. ‘It gives me a chance to really let out how I feel towards God as oppose to trying to formulate into English words.?
Not only does he enjoy words, or the music of singing, he also enjoys the ‘power? of singing, he said.
‘The feeling of the air really being pushed right out of the mouth, it’s incredible, and to hear it reverberate in my head,? he said.
Duncan is also in the midst of writing his first song entitled ‘Night Vision.? He recalled a dream he had where he was standing on a beach and could hear a voice similar to Josh Groban singing to the music that was playing.
‘It’s not a song I have ever heard before or a song that has ever been done. I woke up in the morning and I still had this tune playing in my head, so I came down here to the piano and kind of plunked out the notes in this tune,? said Duncan ‘And I wrote it down and I gave it to my voice teacher and he started adding different chords to it and I was ‘oh my gosh it’s coming alive there is a possibility for this??
Duncan said the title of the song came through reading a Scripture for the book of Isaiah about the light coming out of the darkness.
Previously to wanting a career in singing, Duncan had thought about possibly being an actor.
He was involved in church and schools plays as a young child and was a part of the drama team in high school. Duncan has won many medals and honors over the years including the ‘superior acting? bronze medal at the ‘International Thespian Festival.?
His mom Lynette is also an actress and playwright. He also considered being a minister.
‘I would study for the ministry no matter what I did,? he said.
‘I really want to learn more about what I a pastor knows, and what a pastor needs to know.?
Duncan said he isn’t sure how to get started in professional singing, but hopes to get some exposure this summer during the Concerts in the Park.