“Conducting is the closest sensation I can find to actually touching the music; it is a challenging yet rewarding activity and compliments my work as a composer.”

Matthew began studying conducting in 1996 at Huddersfield University, where his tutors were Barrie Webb and Philip McCann. During this time Matthew gained valuable experience conducting the University’s Brass Band, St. Paul’s Brass Ensemble and New Music Ensemble, and directing the performance of works by fellow students. His professional debut came with the Kaleidoscope Ensemble at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in 1999, performing music by Errollyn Wallen, David Lang and Geoffrey Cox. Since then he has conducted concerts throughout the country with a variety of ensembles, with an emphasis on the performance of contemporary, choral and brass band music. Matthew has developed an excellent, direct conducting technique, underpinned by a thorough analytical knowledge of the score. He has also developed an enviable reputation for effective and innovative programming.

Matthew was the inaugural winner of the Roy Newsome Challenge Shield and was named “NABBC Conductor of the Year 2008”.

In 2009 he attended the first Brass Band Conducting Summer School, led by Allan Withington and hosted by Soli Brass in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.

During 2010 he has been enrolled on the Association of British Choral Directors choral conducting course, led by Peter Broadbent.

Click here for a short conducting biography suitable for download.


West Side Story encore Conducting


Matthew began playing the tenor horn at the age of nine, moving to the euphonium and later the baritone horn. From an early age he performed with local brass bands, including Beverley Borough, Cottingham, and EYMS with whom he won the 2nd Second National Championships in 1992 under Bob Childs. He was also involved in various contest-winning performances with Cottingham and twice appeared with them at the National Finals.

Matthew was Solo Baritone with the National Youth Brass Band in 1994-5, and under the tutelage of Geoffrey Whitham (at Huddersfield University), he graduated to the top flight of Yorkshire banding in 1996, joining Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band on Solo Baritone and competing against and occasionally beating bands such as Black Dyke Mills and Grimethorpe Colliery. He appeared as soloist with the band on many occasions and was a featured soloist on the band’s CD, “A Walk in the Light”. He was also a regular performer with other Championship section brass bands during this period.

As Matthew’s interests in the fields of composition and conducting developed he left Carlton Main, joining Yorkshire Co-op Band on Solo Euphonium before ‘retiring’ when he moved to Brighton (although recently he has performed in experimental music concerts with Tacet Ensemble and CoMA Sussex). As a brass tutor Matthew still has an interest in performing and he is working towards a solo recital project.