Mattie Levy is a writer, poet, and performer/composer graduating with her MA in Composition and MM in Oboe Performance from the University of Michigan in May 2024. Mattie was a coordinator for the UM School of Music Theatre and Dance (SMTD) Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and a program assistant for SMTD EXCEL. She is also co-founder of Black Leaders in Art Collective, an organization that works to support Black students in the arts by providing a safe space, performance and collaborative opportunities. Her recent projects include serving as a performer, composer, and artistic director for No Dead White Guys a multimedia series that amplifies the works of BIPOC artists. Her essay “If my Imposter Syndrome had a Voice and the Reality of the Situation” was published in the online journal: Music and Politics in the Moment.

With a focus on melodic, and dramatic development with affect, percussive textures in both music and text, and symbolic/image-centric storytelling Mattie creates art that refreshes traditional forms and styles, challenging audience expectations and engaging them through works that expand the boundaries of what music, poetry, prose, theatre and performance can do. By subverting usual archetypes and cadences, She tells stories, drawing from her own lived experience as a Black queer woman, that center on the reality, the fantasy, and the hopes of her identity and communities.

Outside of her individual imaginings, socially engaged artistry is also a key component in her artistic process. As an arts activist, she looks for ways to illustrate racial equity, inclusivity, and accessibility in her work. By highlighting marginalized voices, while contemplating universal concepts such as loss, independence, joy, and relationships, Mattie works to humanize the Black experience beyond trauma. In her compositions, theater works, and performances she aims to create a home for Black and Black queer people both in the arts and beyond. Through this lens, she tells unique and important stories, such as the ongoing work on a musical about 3 Black classical musicians and their journey within and outside of academia. She composed the music and book and performed in this work for a staged reading at the University of Michigan in January 2024.

Through distinctive experimentation, emphasis on emotion, and exploration of art’s relationship to social justice; she inspires significant discussions among artists, members of academia, and the public. Mattie believes that art, when created in collaboration with diverse voices, has the power to mobilize audiences. We can effect real change in our society, in the personal, creative, and political.