Music has been a part of Cooper’s life for as long as he can remember. He began playing guitar five years ago, but it took some time before he was allowed to learn.

“I’ve wanted to play guitar since I was a little kid. I listened to Bruce Springsteen a lot with my dad in the car when we would drive around. I kept asking my mom if I could learn guitar, and she kept telling me no because I had to learn piano first,” Cooper said.

So Cooper began playing piano at age five and played for seven years before his teacher moved to California. After that, Cooper started learning how to play the guitar.

It wasn’t until recently that Cooper began singing for Pacifists at War. When the band members were in eighth grade, and Pacifists at War was formed, there were other lead singers. When those singers decided to leave the band, Cooper took on the role of lead singer.

“At first, I wasn’t too confident in my singing ability,” Cooper said. “But I wrote the lyrics to the songs anyways, so I decided to start singing.”

In addition to singing and playing guitar for the band, Cooper also writes original music. For Cooper, the songwriting process varies in time from two hours to multiple months and is a skill that requires a lot of his effort.

“It was really difficult in the beginning, and I was really bad, but I’ve written so many songs in the past two years — probably over 100. It’s all practice, and I’ve progressed a lot,” Cooper said.

In addition to Cooper, Pacifists at War is composed of juniors Alex Karle and Charlie Cundari as well as two students from Lincoln-Sudbury and Needham. Cooper gets the chance to practice his ideas and work with his band members to improve the songs he writes.

“I really love having an outlet for the music I write and being able to collaborate with Alex and Charlie and the others in the band,” Cooper said. “I’ll come in with an idea and talk about it with Alex since he knows how to write guitar parts. We’ll sit down and get a out a song in an hour.”

Cooper’s band members recognize how much of an impact he has on the band.

“Matt’s very motivated and dedicated to our band, and we wouldn’t be where we are right now without him,” Karle said.

Pacifists at War is currently working on releasing an LP, “Sleep Now and Forever Hold Your Peace,” an album that will have 12 songs. They recently released their first single titled, “Burn,” and are looking to release their second single and the album soon.

In addition to performing in his band, Cooper is also part of the Testostertones, WHS’s all-male a cappella group. Being in a cappella provides Cooper with the chance to perform and improve his vocals.

“I think the band and a cappella help each other out because of the aspect of practicing and performing more,” Cooper said.

When it comes to the future, Cooper hopes to keep music an important part of his life.

“I’d certainly like to do something in the future with music,” Cooper said. “I think I want to minor in something musical in college, but if I could perform music as a living, that would probably be my ideal situation.”