biographies

matthew halls  harpsichord & organ

Matthew Halls studied music at Oxford University, where he was Organ Scholar and later Assistant Organist at New College. He was harpsichordist with the European Union Baroque Orchestra in 1998, with whom he toured extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. Since leaving the EUBO he has worked as a keyboard player with many of the world's leading period instrument ensembles. He has been a member of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra since 1999, participating in Ton Koopman's recently-completed project to record the complete cantatas of J. S. Bach. Matthew is also the continuo player and an occasional guest director of The King's Consort and works frequently with other ensembles in the UK such as The Sixteen, The Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has also collaborated with groups further afield including The Theatre of Early Music Montreal, New York Collegium, Concerto Kšln, The Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg, and the Orquestra Nacional de Castilla y Leon. He joined the renowned chamber ensemble Sonnerie in 2001 and with this group he has appeared regularly at London's Wigmore Hall and at festivals throughout Europe and North America. He has made concerto appearances, both with Sonnerie and other chamber groups, in Frankfurt, NŸrnberg and at the International Handel Festival in Halle. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at the Lam�que Festival of Baroque Music (Canada), Amsterdam Bach Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. His recent recordings include a highly acclaimed release of Handel's Opus 4 Organ Concertos with Sonnerie, and a disc of double concertos for flute and harpsichord / fortepiano by Giovanni Agrell in collaboration with the Dutch flautist Wilbert Hazelzet.

In addition to his work as a keyboard player, Matthew is increasingly in demand as a director both on the concert platform and in the opera world. Later this season he will be conducting The King's Consort on tours to Denmark and Bermuda and will also be appearing as a guest conductor with The Portland Baroque Orchestra, USA. For the New Chamber Opera he has conducted Handel's Orlando, Amadigi di Gaula, The Choice of Hercules, Il Trionfo del Tempo, Parnasso in Festa, Acis and Galatea and Alexander's Feast in addition to Purcell's King Arthur, Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona and Mozart's early opera Apollo and Hyacinth. He has worked regularly as both musical assistant / assistant conductor and chorus master at De Nederlandse Opera, Komische Oper, Berlin, Nationale Reisopera, Bayersicher Staatsoper, Athens Megaron and the Buxton Festival Opera.

Matthew currently teaches at Oxford University and is a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra. He also taught for several years at the Jerusalem Early Music Workshop and the Dartington International Summer School.

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