FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Vocalist, educator, and hockey fan Matthew Bischoff sang both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at the Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday in front of millions of viewers.
“It’s everything that you would dream of as a fan,” said Bischoff. “Something that I always dreamt of doing as a kid. Just performing the national anthem at any professional sporting event.”
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Bischoff was raised in Boynton Beach and said his parents noticed his love for music early on.
“I started singing when I was approximately 5 years old,” said Bischoff. “So they put me in the children’s choir at church, and it just sort of elevated into more of a passion and love for music and preforming.”
Bischoff received his bachelor's degree at the University of Florida and his master's degree at the University of Mississippi. He has performed at the Palm Beach Opera, and also sang at the Panthers game last year. Now, he’s sharing his passion with the next generations at St. Mark's Episcopal School in Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s really great to sort of share my passion of music with them and also help them build their next stepping stones and maybe one day one of them will be doing what I did and that would be a really cool full circle moment,” said Bischoff.
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He spoke with WPTV’s Zitlali Solache and said his love for hockey also runs deep. It’s something he shared with his late grandfather.
“I miss him dearly. He passed away about a year ago,” said Bischoff. “Him and I used to always go to Panther games together.”
Apart from singing at the Stanley Cup Final, and back-to-back Panthers wins, one thing stood out most for Bischoff.
“Once I’m in the moment, I feed off the energy of the crowd,” said Bischoff. “That part on Tuesday night was the best it’s ever been.”
Bischoff hopes to perform the national anthems next year. He’s grateful for his support system and said the memory will stay with him forever.
“Just to have that as a part of a history as a part of my life, just to think about it, is very humbling,” said Bischoff.
