Our conductor

Matthew Hardy

Liverpool-born conductor Matthew Hardy graduated in 2018 from the masters course in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Peter Stark and Howard Williams. He attended Dartington International Summer School in 2017 as a scholar studying with Sian Edwards and was invited to the Cardiff Conducting Days masterclass in 2018 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales led by Martyn Brabbins.

At the RCM he assisted conductors Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Martyn Brabbins, and Jac van Steen. He conducted the RCM Orchestra in several performances, and directed many smaller groups as part of the college’s programme of events.

He is the founder and artistic director of East London Music Group with whom he has given performances of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale and Walton’s Façade, among a diverse repertoire. With ELMG he also commissioned and premiered Strange Joy by Edward Nesbit and 1936: An East London Uprising by Robin Haigh, two works for narrators and ensemble. East London Music Group has also delivered several large scale primary school educational projects.

In addition, Matthew has a busy schedule as Musical Director of East London Community Band, St Albans Rehearsal Orchestra, and Bowes Park Community Choir. In September 2019 he took up Musical Director positions with CoMA (Contemporary Music for All) London Ensemble and Southampton University Symphony Orchestra.