Orphaned and suffering from tuberculosis, during his recovery in the early 1950s he began to write both haiku and music.

He studied with Tomojiro Ikenouchi and Akira Ifukube.

He was Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Matsumura is best known for his opera Chinmoku (in English Silence) based on the novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo.

Matsumura is the recipient of the 1974 UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers and of the 1978 Suntory Music Award.