Matt Ender

Matt Ender composed music for movies and television for three decades, including a score for the daytime soap opera All My Children that earned an Emmy nomination in 1988. Among his works are the score for The Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover, and "Do the Carmine," which was written for the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley. His music has also been featured on The Leeza Show. His passion, however, is Celtic music. He has recorded several albums, debuting with Ancient Isle in 1997. The Brooklyn native grew up surrounded by the sounds of music. His mother played the cello, and his father was a self-taught pianist. Ender took piano lessons, starting when he was six years old. In the beginning, he learned technique, theory, and harmony, and played classical and jazz. He progressed to composing and studied under Josef Zawinul, who was affiliated with the Weather Report and Miles Davis. In later years he began to write songs, and moved into television and movie work. He settled in Los Angeles in 1974, and pursued a career in composing. His first Celtic album, Ancient Isle, brought recognition from the Visionary Awards with a nomination for World Album of the Year, while the New Age Voice Awards nominated it for Celtic Album of the Year. A trip to Ireland late in 1998 inspired Ender's next Celtic album, Miles of Skye, which includes both original and traditional songs. Contributing artists include Eric Rigler playing his uilleann pipes on "Miss Monaghans," Steve McDonald adding vocals to the title track, while "False Fly" features Celtic vocalist Darby DeVon. ~ Linda Seida