Narrative About section followed by Artistic Bio:
About
I didn't think I would survive my teen years, let alone my twenties.
My six younger siblings and I faced food insecurity, domestic violence, and a constant state of unpredictability.
Amidst these challenges, I found solace in music and the arts. Creative outlets became my refuge, allowing me to escape the confines of our Evangelical household and connect with my body. I didn't yet know that this connection would become my path to healing.
In college, my body forced me to confront trauma. Complex-PTSD often manifests physically, and for me, each new symptom and diagnosis was accompanied by a wave of emotional processing.
This sparked my special interest in trauma, and I began a journey of exploration and learning.
Before discovering the somatic methods that worked for me, I faced numerous life-threatening situations. Depression and anxiety felt insurmountable. When I found out I was autistic in my early 30s, everything clicked into place.
I sought methods that worked with my neurotype, enabling me to regulate my nervous system and manage the stress responses that can create disability-level stress for neurodivergent folks. This positive feedback loop allowed my body to heal from many of the physical repercussions of long-term stress, including the trauma of poverty.
In January 2022 I received an official autism diagnosis, and was also told that I no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. This doesn't mean my healing journey is over!
However, the constant daily symptoms are gone. And many of the associated health problems including asthma, migraines, TMJD, allergies, and chronic back and neck pain have largely disappeared.
My artistic endeavors as a composer and poet have in part emerged from this healing journey. Today, I center my work around pleasure, joy, and fun.
As an AuDHD coach, I aim to balance the superpowers of our neurotype with the very real challenges that require support.
My philosophy as a practitioner is: feel better first. When the body and mind are relaxed and safe, everything becomes easier. Creative problem-solving resurfaces, decisions become easier, and all self-care can work together in an upward spiral.
I will never take wellness for granted. I understand the pervasive impact of hopelessness. Gratitude for making it this far fuels my desire to share my story, even as a natural introvert who would be happy never being observed.
One reason I want to share my experiences is to give hope to queer, trans, and neurodivergent youth and young adults. With support and community, life really can get better.
Artistic Bio
An interdisciplinary composer, Mattia Maurée (b. 1987) makes art that explores perception, bodies, sensation, trauma, and resilience. Disconnection from our embodied experience of each other and our environment causes suffering. Music has a unique ability to address this. Rather than cajole the audience into a specific experience, Mattia seeks to awaken strong physical sensations that cannot be ignored.
Their scores in critically acclaimed films have played in thirteen countries, and Thorns won Best Score Short at GenreBlast in 2020. They were a finalist in the Mass Cultural Council 2019 Artistic Fellowships Program in music composition. In the summer of 2021 they had their first international non-film premiere during the Alba Composition Festival in Italy, with Transient Canvas.
Mattia has always loved words. Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola selected their poems for installation in Boston City Hall as part of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Mayor's Poetry Program. They developed their first libretto with Guerilla Opera in 2021. In March 2022, their poem "Pre-Abortion Rite" was published in Arc Poetry Magazine.
Collaboration, community, and education are core to Mattia's work. Mattia records, teaches, and performs on violin, voice, and piano, and particularly enjoy teaching trans voice students. They've also taught songwriting and comics in Boston Public Schools, poetry through Boston's Creative Aging Program, and a workshop on anti-racist co-labor with long-time collaborator Pampi at MASS MoCA.
Public-facing art projects and collaborations have received generous support from The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, MASS MoCA, Boston's Office of Arts and Culture, and The Puffin Foundation. As part of the New Leader's Council Boston cohort of 2020, they learned practical skills for progressive leadership, and served on the Board the following year.
Mattia received a Masters of Music in Composition at New England Conservatory, where they studied with Malcolm Peyton, and a Bachelors of Music from St. Olaf College, where they studied with Justin Merritt and Timothy Mahr. John Heiss, another teacher at NEC, called their music "bold, adventurous, powerful and elegant."
Unstructured, largely autodidactic homeschooling prepared Mattia for a life of creative thinking led by their passions. They helped teach six younger siblings, all of whom are involved in the arts. At 13, Mattia entered the Transition School program at the University of Washington, and matriculated the next year as an undergraduate.
Hobbies include reading, arctic puffins, and advocating for disability justice and trans rights.