Matthew Andrews
Matthew Andrews studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, studying composition with Professor Robert Saxton, piano with Susan Alexander-Max, and conducting technique with Alan Hazeldine. He received further tuition with composer Simon Bainbridge and conductors Christopher Adey and Peter Stark.
On graduation Matt returned to the Guildhall to teach orchestral conducting technique. He has also been a visiting conductor to their Junior Department and to Wells Cathedral School.
Matt’s début with Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010 performing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony led to his appointment as Principal Conductor. In celebration of the Philharmonic Society’s 175th anniversary, Matt conducted a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.8 before a 2000-strong audience at the 2016 Norfolk & Norwich Festival.
In 2019, Matt became the Principal Conductor of Sinfonia Tamesa in London. He is also a regular guest conductor with the Academy of St Thomas, and appears with many other orchestras. Matt has been de facto Artistic Director of the Resonate! McKinsey Music Festival at the Alpine University in Kitzbühel, since its inception 20 years ago.
Matt gave the première of Neil Yate’s Surroundings for Antiphonal Big Band (Manchester Jazz Festival). He has also conducted the Northern Sinfonia, Amadeus Orchestra, North London Chorus and Opera Lab, and was Principal Conductor of the Southend Symphony Orchestra for ten years. He is currently a Music Director with the Essex Youth Orchestras Programme.
Matt was assistant to composer Geoffrey Burgon, recording Merciless Beauty with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields and the BAFTA award-winning soundtrack of Longitude with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Matt is also an award-winning consultant in the creative industries. He has managed more than sixty projects in education, broadcasting and the performing arts, and in 2003 received an award from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. He has worked with the BBC, Danish Business Council, CBSO, RLPO, University of Liverpool, Creative Partnerships, Arts Council England and Performing Arts Labs. Matt’s company Creative Imperative also manages international music festivals for its client McKinsey & Company.