22nd - 27th June 2008
Matthew was co-conductor on this tour, which was organised by students of LUUMS Choir. The Chorus Performed in Chartres Cathedral, Madaleine and Notre Dame, and the programmes contained "Send Out Thy Light."
June 2008
Matthew was asked to co-produce a commercial recording project with the University of Leeds Liturgical Choir. Some pieces for this CD were also recorded in 2007 and these were produced by Peter Davoren.
5th January 2008
Over the Christmas period Matthew engineered and recorded two live performances of the band Face Value for a live CD due approximately summer time 08. The band's website is facevalue.me.uk
2nd May 2007
On Monday 30th April 2007 Matthew was elected conductor of Leeds University Chamber Choir. At the Operasoc AGM on 26th April he was elected the MD of 2008's opera Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, but this opera was cancelled, and changed to Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado with a different production committee.
In addition to taking up the post of Scholar Conductor at Leeds Cathedral in september, Matthew also headed off to Germany at the end of May 2007 for a choral conducting course in Marktoberdorf, studying with Prof. Volker Hempfling and Jonathon Velasco, with The Coro Universitario de Mendoza.
2nd May 2007
Here’s what the Leeds Student Newspaper had to say about the Operasoc performance of Bizet's Carmen, 18th to 20th April 2007:
"There are several things that an amateur should never try. Amongst these are fire juggling and, arguably, performing an opera. Bizet’s Carmen is a tale of passion, betrayal and the fickle nature of human relationships, and you would be forgiven for thinking that a student society would not be able to convincingly portray the mature emotions required to give a good performance. However, having seen LUU Opera Society’s rendition, I can assure you that they can. From the opening minute of act one, the audience were drawn into the world of the singers who, for a relatively small group, produced remarkable polyphonic melodies throughout.
"A story of unrequited love and passionate gesture, the opera begins with an exchange between a brigade of soldiers and the girls at a nearby cigarette factory. The two-part melodies btween the sexes were solidly enacted, the opposing styles of singing and lyrics capturing the essence of the opera as a difference between the genders.
"The principal roles were performed with conviction and vigour, the audience often notably taken aback at the quality of the female voices. Elaine Tate’s Carmen was captivatingly protrayed, with so convincing a performance that the audience struggled to focus on any other aspect of the opera, even when her character took a back seat. Her performance became so intensely sultry that during a dancing scene with her love interest Don Jose (Morss) that there were some uncomfortable laughs around the Riley Smith. Her singing ranged from an incredible operatic style to husky tones of indifference, and the image of Carmen as a heartless temptress was well played. Soldier Don Jose, the victim of such indifference, was played strongly, with murderous passion by the ending (if you catch my drift), tension from which built throught the final act, and love interest toreador Escamillo (Ford) had an unbelievably powerful voice which matched the proud personality of his character well.
"However, the audience’s favourite performance came from the two smugglers, who’s random cockney accents (and a very obviously drawn on beard) had the people around me in stitches, and the wildly camp, sparkly blue sequinned matador outfit donned by escamillo for his bullfight (where did they get that?)
"The performance was sung beautifully, with a strong support from the excellent chorus, a well-thought-out choreography and spot-on orchestral performance. If anything let it down, it would be the acting, which only occasionally tended to look wooden from some characters. But, with such little at fault, and having begun with such a challenging opera, this society can only go from strength to strength."
9th May 2006
Tonight, the London Sinfonietta performed a new piece by Matthew called “Mutts”, a theme and variations based on the cartoon of the same name by Patrick McDonnel. There was a workshop before hand where the piece (and numerous others from new composers in the Music Department at Leeds University) was rehearsed, and the concert was free-entry in the Clothworker’s Centenery Concert Hall in the Music Department.
A recording was made.
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