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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hearing no impediment to music goals of CdA High senior

Coeurd'Alene High school senior Matthew Stolley pauses before performing at North Idaho college on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Matthew Stolley enjoyed a variety of sports – basketball, baseball, soccer – when he was a young boy, but as time went on, he became aware that he was not as tall, big or as strong as his friends and that his future in sports might be short lived.

He also loved music, and he realized that “you don’t ever have to retire from music” even if you have a slight build. And while he still enjoys snowboarding and pick-up basketball, he has put his energies into making beautiful music.

He did this while dealing with a hearing issue, which he struggled with since a child, but which he never let get in the way. Stolley, 19, is a superior pianist, has achieved first class honors with distinction in the Royal Conservatory of Toronto Music Program in piano, which this spring has earned him an associate degree in music, allowing him to enter college at an advanced level.

His list of piano accomplishments is long, including performing a challenging piano solo in the Mozart Concerto in A Major No. 23, K488, with the Coeur d’Alene High School Orchestra as his senior project – which took five months of preparation. He regularly plays piano with the orchestra and also volunteers providing musical entertainment at assisted living facilities, nonprofit organizations’ fundraisers and other community events. He was a featured pianist on Spokane Public Radio’s “The Piano Bench.”

He also plays saxophone, an instrument he took up in middle school because he wanted to be in the marching band. He plays in his high school jazz, marching and pep bands, wind ensemble and the orchestra. Sax takes just as much work as piano, Stolley said.

His other interests include history and geography, and he came in sixth in the Idaho State National Geographic Geography Bee, representing the Coeur d’Alene School District.

A pivotal experience for him occurred in seventh grade when he attended a master class given by music professor Peter Mack, who “opened a whole new level of music for me. He opened the door to the world of college and what the future could hold for me. He was the one who encouraged me to enter the Toronto program.”

Stolley, who maintains a 3.725 GPA, hopes to attend college in the fall and work toward a degree in music, performance or music education.

The son of Nancy Nuttleman-Stolley, a teacher at Dalton Elementary School, and Mike Stolley, who is in human resources at Mainstream Electric, he was born with a condition in which some pitches and sounds lacked clarity and were garbled. Stolley explained that there was a disconnect between brain and ear.

But still he excelled in music. It was just this past year that a kind of auditory therapy, combined with physical exercise, was developed that enabled him to overcome the condition.

“God has given me a blessed family, teachers and friends throughout my life,” he said. “I have been so fortunate that there has always been someone there in my life.”