Matthew Halls is one of Britain’s most exciting young conductors as well as a leading harpsichordist and organist. He was Associate Director (2005–2007) and Artistic Director (2007–2009) of The King’s Consort before taking up his current position as Artistic Director of Retrospect Ensemble. He studied at Oxford University, was organ scholar and later assistant organist at New College, and graduated with a first class degree in music. Whilst completing postgraduate research at Oxford he was also director of music at the University Church in Oxford. In 1998 he joined the European Union Baroque Orchestra, with whom he toured extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. Since leaving this orchestra he has enjoyed a busy and exciting career, playing with many of the world’s leading period instrument orchestras, including the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Theatre of Early Music, Montreal and the New York Collegium. As a soloist he has appeared at the Cheltenham International Festival; Handel Festival, Halle; Enescu Festival, Bucharest; Ottawa International Chamber Festival; Lamèque Festival, New Brunswick and Bermuda Festival.

As Artistic Director of The King’s Consort he appeared in many of Europe’s leading festivals and concert venues (including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; La Cité de la Musique, Paris; and Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) and broadcast extensively both on television and radio. His world première recording of Handel’s Parnasso in Festa for the Hyperion record label was met with great critical acclaim. In addition to his work with Retrospect Ensemble and The King’s Consort, he has conducted numerous other period instrument ensembles, such as The English Concert, Portland Baroque Orchestra, USA, and Holland Baroque Society. He will succeed Helmuth Rilling as Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival in 2013.

Now firmly established as a conductor of international repute, he has made significant débuts with orchestras such as Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Iceland Symphony, Het Residentie Orkest, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bach Collegium Stuttgart, Colorado Symphony, Houston Symphony and Tonkünstler Orchestra. Recent highlights include débuts with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestras.

Matthew is also active in the opera world as a freelance conductor and chorus master, working regularly at De Nederlandse Opera and the Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands, the Komische Oper in Berlin and the Bayerische Staatsoper, as well as with English Touring Opera and New Chamber Opera. He has made recent débuts with opera companies such as Händel-Festspiele Halle, Salzburg Landestheater and Central City Opera Colorado, all of which resulted in immediate re-invitations.

Matthew was a tutor at St Peter’s College Oxford and taught harpsichord at Oxford University. He is also a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra and regularly teaches on summer schools and courses such as the Jerusalem Early Music Workshop and the Dartington International Summer School.