S.D. native, acclaimed pianist, returns home to take on bigger stage

By Mick Garry, for Pigeon605

Nationally known new-age pianist and songwriter Matthew Mayer is fired up about his return to Sioux Falls for a Dec. 18 holiday-themed concert at the Orpheum Theater Center, the historic landmark where he has dreamed of performing for decades.

As those who attended his Christmas concert a year ago at the Washington Pavilion’s Belbas Theater can attest, energy is never going to be a problem for this guy.

That concert, exactly a year before this year’s visit, included lively banter with the audience, stories from his youth in Canistota, a memorable appearance by Santa Claus and Mayer leaving his piano bench to do pushups on the stage floor.

The pushups were an attempt to impress his high school football coach, whom he spotted in the audience. Just another night at the opera, in other words.

“You probably couldn’t do those kinds of things somewhere else,” Mayer said. “Everyone in a crowd has a one-degree connection with everyone else. I was really inspired by that.”

Within the world of new-age musicians, Mayer has an impressive legacy. His work includes a half-billion streams worldwide, more than 20 albums, two Telly Awards and a top spot on Billboard’s New Age Albums chart with “Beautiful You,” an album he recorded in 2018.

His career began with piano lessons across the street from his home and progressed to performances as a teenager at the Ortman Clinic in Canistota. He put together his first album while attending the University of South Dakota in 1999.

This January, he’ll be performing in Italy and Austria, but first, there’s the gig in Sioux Falls.

“I mean, we’re talking about the Orpheum,” Mayer said. “It’s exciting, but it puts you to the test a bit, too, which makes it fun.”

To those who like going to concerts but really can’t imagine what it would be like to perform on a stage, Mayer explains why the Orpheum is a special venue and why he considers it a personal challenge.

“Anytime you’re playing in a little bigger place, you still want to create a closeness and an intimacy,” he said. “You want people – whether they’re sitting in the balcony or if they’re sitting in the front – to feel that.”

You could not be a nationally known artist like Mayer without being serious about what you do. At the same time, that was Mayer, at the encouragement of college friends, on the keyboard riding on a float at Dakota Days in Vermillion a few months back.

This trip down Main Street and memory lane was part of a go-big-or-go-home effort by former Coyote basketball players looking to make a splash.

“Chuck Welke and Ben Ries concocted a plan,” Mayer said, mentioning a pair of USD hall-of-famers from the 1990s. “They told me they were going to advertise my events and get all the basketball players on the float. It was hilarious.”

The reconnection element is a big part of Mayer’s vibe. It is why he’s coming back for another show, this time at the Orpheum, with more seating and, one would assume, more friends.

“That’s the beauty of these friendships,” Mayer said. “Without them, I don’t know where I’d be. It’s not like I’m a huge success or anything, but I know I wouldn’t have a bit of the success I’ve had without these people in my life.”

The main reason for coming back, Mayer said, was “because no one threw tomatoes at me the last time,” but he also said he has been planning the show for the past year. It will include plenty of material from his vast library of original compositions, as well as robust treatment of Christmas songs we all know well.

Tickets are still available for the 7 p.m. concert. At MatthrewMayer.com, you can hear his music and learn where to find more of it. He also will be playing after the concert at the Canopy by Hilton hotel.

“Playing the week before Christmas at the Orpheum – I could not ask for more than that,” he said. “I don’t want to get too sentimental, but I started playing when I was 12. This show has been 35 years in the making. I’m incredibly honored to have this opportunity.”

From Canistota to chart-topping pianist, meet the musician who honors his S.D. roots