eCREATIVE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2016 | Page 12

eCREATIVE composes his own music "Jazz is the my favorite genre,” he said. “I just like the way it sounds." He practices music for hours each day after homework and dinner and which instrument he chooses first often depends on how he feels when he gets home from school. “If I’m a little angry, I’ll start with the drums first,” he noted. Photo: Joseph Gray “We try to make sure Matthew gets the support he needs so he can continue to live out his dream.” Above: Matthew with his mother, May, and his father, Moses. “In the beginning it was such a joy to watch him doing something he really enjoyed,” said May Whitaker. “We try to balance everything to make sure he gets what he needs today so he can continue to live out his dream.” Matthew is also now a student at New York City’s prestigious Manhattan School of Music, and his parents say he finds music even in the speed and sounds of the Big Apple. As the subways rumble beneath him, he taps his cane on the ground to recreate the noise. “New York City is a circle of sounds,” Matthew said in a recent interview. “There is music everywhere.” His parents know all too well the challenges their family has faced to help Matthew reach this point in his life and his music. They help him manage the demands of his school work and the logistics of his performance schedule. “They make sure that I get to my classes