Passing on the Belief: Arden Matheson

For Arden Matheson (2025), the College music department was where the idea of playing professionally first felt possible, and this year he returned to be part of that same belief for the next group of musicians coming through.

Since the start of the year, Arden has taught itinerant guitar and bass lessons, worked with a couple of rock bands through Term 1 and Term 2, and performed at the College’s Jazz Club evening fundraiser. It is a department he says continues to grow rapidly, with a level of talent coming through that he finds genuinely inspiring. Being part of that in any capacity is something he does not take for granted.

That gratitude runs both ways. When Arden first began considering a career in music, he found a department willing to back him despite the long odds that come with going professional. Rather than being met with caution, he was given encouragement and belief. It is that same support he hopes to pass on through his teaching, whether the students he works with go on to play professionally or simply keep making music for the love of it.

The timing of Arden’s return says something about the department’s current momentum. This year alone, the College's Concert Band took out Gold and the inaugural Most Outstanding Performance by a School Band at the NZCBA National Festival, while student saxophone quartet Simple Solutions won the National KBB Music Award at the CMNZ Chamber Music Contest, the kind of results that bear out exactly what Arden describes.

This September, Arden heads to Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full tuition scholarship for bass, an achievement he calls a dream come true. Founded in 1945 and long regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary music schools, Berklee has shaped generations of jazz musicians, and Arden is looking forward to learning from many of the people he grew up idolising.

His ambitions reach well beyond his years at the College. Arden's goal is to build a career as a professional bassist specialising in jazz, alongside international session work recording and performing with major artists. It is a demanding road, and one he is working hard towards, with a strong start already behind him.