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Matthew Giobbi
Trombonist & Pianist in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Central New Jersey.
About Me
Matthew Tyler Giobbi is an educator, author, & musician. In the spirit of his mentors, William James and
R.W. Emerson, Matthew takes an interdisciplinary approach to thinking, drawing on continental
philosophy, pragmatism, critical theory, literary theory, humanities-based & Eastern psychologies.
Matthew is based in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania & Newark, New Jersey.
Thinking, writing, and teaching about lifephilosophy, art, poetry, and music are central to Matthew's
work. Exploring the act of creating and performing music, and other works of art, as an essential aspect
of the human condition has been at the center of his work. Matthew enjoys teaching older beginner
music students, as well serious younger students who have a strong work ethic and an intrinsic desire to
learn.
Matthew's education is in continental philosophy, psychology, and music. He earned a doctorate in
Philosophy, Art, & Critical Thought from The European Graduate School, a master's degree in
psychology from The New School for Social Research, and professional studies in music at The Mannes
College of Music & The Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He earned his undergraduate degree in
psychology from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Matthew has been a faculty member of
the psychology department at Rutgers University at Newark since 2006.
Matthew began studying guitar at an early age, moving on to piano and classical trombone in
adolescence. Matthew was a trombonist in the Lima Philharmonic in Peru in 1996. In the 1990s he
toured with orchestras performing in China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Europe. In
1998 he released an album of original songs entitled, Collected Songs. His music was played on local
radio stations in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, and he performed at many festivals and concert
venues during that period. His primary teachers were Paul Schocker (piano & composition), Timothy
Soberick, Per Brevig (trombonist, Metropolitan Opera) and Ivan Meylemans (trombonist, Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra). In his youth, Matthew was principal trombonist of Carnegie Hall's New York
Youth Symphony, and performed in six Carnegie Hall concerts. Matthew enjoys composing, teaching
beginner music students, and exploring improvisational music.
Matthew writes the Mindfulness & Music blog for Psychology Today, and has written five books: A
Postcognitive Negation (2010), An “A” Effort: The College Student's Guide to Success (2012), Media
Psychology (2014), Inner Harmony: Personal Exploration at the Piano (2016), & Musings: On Buddhist
Psychology, Intellectual History, Psychodynamic Theory, media Psychology, & Existential-
Phenomenology (2020). Matthew is an author with Atropos Press.
Matthew is an Adjunct member of The American Philosophical Practitioners Association.
