A very warm welcome to my website. Below you will find my full third person biography for concert/media/promotion

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Matthew Sear (b. 1975)

Matthew Sear is a London-born composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his works for solo instruments and small ensembles. He has been featured in notable publications such as Classical Guitar, Fanfare, The Jewish Chronicle, and Gibson Lifestyle. Matthew’s music has premiered at venues including the Royal Academy of Music, the 1901 Arts Club, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Maria Marchant’s 7 Notes in 7 Days, and at the Edinburgh, Toronto, and Adelaide Fringe Festivals.

In 2006, Matthew made his London guitar debut at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden. He went on to perform extensively in both the UK and internationally, gracing venues like St John Smith’s Square, Canterbury Cathedral, Hertford College (University of Oxford), and the Series for Young Composers at St Martin in the Fields. His international recitals took him to Spain, Sweden, France, and North America.

Melinda Hughes of Broadwaybaby.com wrote of the premiere of his composition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013:“The America Suite contained both the bustling New York Metropolis and hints of Southern Bluegrass... exhilarating!”

A passionate improviser, Matthew has been involved in numerous creative projects, including The London Contemporary Guitar Series (2012-2020). This initiative was designed to promote classical, jazz, and fusion styles in an accessible and intimate setting. During the series, Matthew collaborated with renowned musicians such as jazz guitarist Howard Alden (featured in Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown), gypsy jazz guitarist Tim Robinson, acoustic fusion guitarist Martin Vishnick, and fusion legend John Etheridge (Soft Machine/John Williams). These collaborations not only enriched his performances but also influenced his compositional style, blending contemporary jazz harmonies with world and traditional classical elements.

In 2013-2014, as his mother’s health declined, Matthew scaled back his performances to be able to visit her daily. Despite this, he continued teaching and performed for her during hospital visits. After her passing in late 2014, Matthew found solace in the healing power of music. He joined the charity Music in Hospitals in 2015, performing over 100 concerts between 2015 - 2020, in a variety of sensitive environments including ICUs, oncology units, and children’s hospices.

The global lockdowns of 2020-2021 presented challenges for the creative community, but they also sparked a period of intense compositional activity for Matthew. During this time, he connected with visual artist Mina Kupfermann, and together they began work on a large-scale project, Seven Days—a music and art collaboration exploring the Seven Days of Creation.

When live music resumed post-lockdown, Matthew was awarded a fellowship from the Royal Society of Arts for his work in composition and performance. He appeared on BBC’s The Wake Up Call with Anna Cookson to discuss his album Creations in Lockdown, which explores themes of mortality, life after death, and liberty. Colin Clarke from Fanfarepraised the album as “a most imaginative release, and a poignant reaction to past and continuing world events.”

In 2022, Matthew released The Tree of Life, an album influenced by his spiritual connection to Kabbalah, featuring instruments such as the didgeridoo, pipe organ, oud, strings, and electric guitar. Eric Strangeland from the Mixtapespodcast described the music as “really interesting with strong melodies.”

Between 2023 and 2024, Matthew released The Nova Suite (for cello duet) and completed two significant commissions: Amigos for a massed choir of over 200 voices (commissioned by Bexley Music) and the soundtrack for Darcy Weir’s UFO documentary, Transmedium.

Currently, Matthew is working on several new projects, including Pieces for Pets for concert pianist Lydia Melleck, a setting of the biblical Psalms in collaboration with singer Daisy Jones, and his upcoming album Doorways, which features music for string orchestra, brass quartet, piano, and classical guitar.

As a proud independent artist, Matthew’s music has accumulated over half a million streams on Spotify and has been played in over 110 countries.

October 2024

*Coming soon for Summer 2025 ‘Seven Days’. Updates TBA)

Work in education

Alongside his work in performance and composition, Matthew is equally passionate about education.

Being not from musical parents himself, he is particularly interested in connecting with pupils who have found their own way into music and teaches guitar (classical and electric), piano and composition privately and in schools in and around London.


Matthew lives with his wife Suzanne, (a musician in her own right and specialist in Autism) and their beloved King Charles Spaniels; Ellie and Elian, in London, England.

Interests outside of music include; football, tv/film, psychology, mysticism and the search for extra terrestrial intelligence.——————————————————————————————————————————————

Professional training

Inspired to take up the guitar in his teens after hearing the album ‘The Ozzy Osbourne Randy Rhoads Tribute’, Matthew began teaching himself electric guitar improvisation and composition, whilst studying classical guitar under Adrian Harrison, and piano under Maurice Clark and Gary Ryan.

He continued his studies of the guitar and piano as an undergraduate at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and privately, under the tutelage of guitarists Martin Vishnick and Carlos Bonell, gaining Licentiates and a Fellowship from The Royal Schools and The London College of Music.

Matthew studied post graduate composition under Stephen Goss at the University of Surrey, privately under Dominic Murcott, and under Gwyn Prichard, Laura Jurd and Deidre Gribbin, at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, culminating in a Masters degree in music, and an Artist diploma in composition. In 2021 he was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Arts, in recognition of his contribution to the world of composition and performance.