The good Cornellians can do: Matt Proujansky ’68

After retiring in 2013 from his career as an engineer, Matt Proujansky '68 pursued many second acts, including lifeguarding at a local health club. There, he met someone who played jazz with a non-audition band. When Matt mentioned that he played clarinet, she invited him to join the band. And so he did.

Matt had played clarinet in his high school band, 50 years earlier. Recognizing that he wanted to improve his playing, Matt began taking jazz lessons at the Concord Conservatory of Music in Concord, MA. Matt’s teacher asked him what his goals were.

“’I don't have to be great. I just want to be credible,’” Matt replied. “I started playing wherever, whenever, and with whomever I could. This was often at jazz jams, at which I had thrilling successes and embarrassing failures, but I kept at it.”

As his skills, confidence, and jazz network grew, Matt approached the Sudbury Senior Center to ask if he could organize jazz music for the community. Matt put together different groups, applied for modest grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and began playing Jazz Luncheons at the Sudbury Senior Center. Since February 2024, he has hosted six luncheons, all of which filled the first day they were announced.

“These are events where people eat, talk, and socialize while we play in the background, like at a jazz club. We musicians love it, because our audience is relaxed and having fun,” Matt says. “I recommend coming back to your instruments to get and give pleasure through music,” he adds.

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