Jun 13, 2025 By Brad Hundt 2 min read

Matthew Boice had diverse musical tastes.

When he was driving, his car’s radio was often tuned to WJPA-FM, the oldies radio station based in Washington, but Boice also loved gospel, show tunes and more.

“There was very little that Matt didn’t like,” according to Mitchell Stecker, Boice’s son-in-law. “He just loved it all.”

Boice was the conductor and founding director of the Washington Festival Chorale, and the group will be paying tribute to him in a concert that’s been dubbed “Matt-a-Palooza” Saturday at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Washington. Selections will include compositions by Boice and Stecker, as well as “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the Mamas and the Papas’ “California’ Dreamin’,” the gospel song “I’ll Fly Away,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the holiday classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

“It’s going to be a celebration,” said Stecker, who is now the Washington Festival Chorale’s director. “We’ll be remembering all the things that Matt meant to our lives.”

Boice died unexpectedly in August 2022 when he was 61 years old, just two days before he had been scheduled to lead the Washington Festival Chorale in a performance at the Washington County Fair. A music educator, Boice was the organist and music director at First Presbyterian Church, an adjunct professor at Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and other institutions, a longtime member of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and was mayor of East Washington.

“Matt-a-Palooza” will be happening on what would have been Boice’s 64th birthday. Stecker’s contribution is “Ars Longa,” which translated from Latin means “art is long, life is short.”

“You pour your whole life into your craft, and even at the end there is more to be done,” Stecker said. “Our art lives long after we are gone, and I think that is especially true for Matt.”

Information on the concert is available at wfchorale.org.