Matthew Zeller, PhD

Matthew Zeller, PhD, is Curator for Europe at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix. An organologist, musicologist, and trained violin bow maker, he holds a Ph.D. in musicology from Duke University and a master’s degree specializing in musical instrument history from the University of South Dakota. His research centers on the violin family — Amati, Guarneri, and Stradivari — and he is a recognized leader in historical metrology and the use of ultraviolet fluorescence, X-ray, and CT scanning in organological research. At MIM he curated the major 2024–2025 exhibition Stradivarius and the Golden Age of Violins and Guitars, and he co-founded the Organology Study Group of the American Musicological Society. For Gearcheck, Matt’s expertise strengthens the platform’s core mission: treating high-value instruments as both living tools and cultural artifacts that deserve precise documentation, secure provenance records, and thoughtful storytelling.