After much cold-calling and nail-biting, I finally got the chance to replace the Music Director of Zanna, Don't!, an Off-Broadway musical at the old John Houseman Theater. This soon led to subbing in the orchestra pits of Hairspray, Avenue Q and Wicked on Broadway, and a long run with the original company of Altar Boyz.
Since then, I've worked on 40 Broadway shows, currently serving as Associate Music Supervisor for Hamilton​. Along the way, I've collaborated with countless great talents, including ​Clay Aiken, Trey Anastasio, Keith Carradine, Desmond Child, Deborah Cox, Stanley Drucker, Flaherty & Aherns, Amanda Green, Arsenio Hall, Gelsey Kirkland, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joan Osborne, Dolly Parton, Adam Pascal, Phish, Buster Poindexter, John Morris Russell, Christine Taylor, and too many more to list! I've performed at Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, the Belmont Stakes, Manhattan Center, and 20 Broadway theaters; I've recorded music for Sesame Street, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tony Awards and several original cast albums.

about Tick, Tick...BOOM! [NY City Center]

"an energetic rock band on stage..." (Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post)

about Cymbeline [Shakespeare in Central Park] 

​"Music plays a huge role in Cymbeline's success. Music Director Matt Gallagher, with a small band

of musicians, makes the interesting and… authentic connection between Elizabethan and Appalachian

music and dance." (Kathleen Campion, New York Theatre Guide)

about yours truly...

His name is Matt Gallagher, and the man is EVERYTHING! (Playbill)

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People are saying...

I was born and raised in Lowell, MA, in a house filled with music. Though neither was a professional musician, both of my parents loved to sing; my mom in the church choir, my dad in a Barbershop chorus. I was about 5 when I started singing with him, and I picked up piano shortly thereafter.

My high school theater gave me my first opportunity to play in "the pit," and I was soon seeking out opportunities to play shows at every possible venue. By the time I moved to New York to attend Adelphi University, I was already quite clear that the path of the theater musician was the one for me.

During my time on Long Island, I served on the faculty of the NY BOCES Cultural Arts Center and Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts. In addition, I served as Music Director and Conductor for over 100 productions at the many community, high school, college, and children's theaters on Long Island.​