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 noted for compositions for solo instruments and small ensembles.
He has featured in the publications; Classical Guitar, Fanfare, The Jewish Chronicle, Gibson Lifestyle and We Are Cult, while his compositions have received premier performances at: the Royal Academy of Music, the 1901 Arts Club, St Martin in the Field, Maria Marchant’s ‘7 Notes in 7 Days’, and the Edinburgh, Toronto and Adelaide fringe festivals.
Matthew gave his London debut at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden in 2006 and over the next several years performed extensively at home and abroad, performing at venues including St John Smith’s Square, St James’ Piccadilly, Canterbury Cathedral, Hertford College (University of Oxford) St Martin In The Field's 'Series For Young Composers’, and international recitals across Spain, Sweden, France and North America.
“The America Suite contained both the bustling New York Metropolis and hints of Southern Bluegrass...exhilarating!”
Melinda Hughes, (Broadwaybaby.com) Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013
With an interest in improvisation and fusion, in 2013 he launched ‘the London Contemporary guitar series’ performing with jazz guitarist Howard Alden (Sweet and lowdown), gypsy jazz guitarist Tim Robinson, acoustic fusion guitarist, Martin Vishnick and later; supporting fusion giant, John Etheridge (Soft Machine/John Williams).
After the death of his mother in 2014, Matthew became fascinated with the sacred music of composers such as Francis Pott and Olivier Messiaen. During this period he studied the organ under Jonathan Bunny (between 2015 and 2018), writing a series of pieces for the pipe organ including ‘the System has Crashed’, a work inspired by the mass ‘fallout’, from the U.K European referendum.
Towards the end of the pandemic, upon receiving a Fellowship, from the Royal Society of Arts, for his work in music, he joined the BBC’s Anna Cookson on her show The Wake Up Call, to discuss ‘Creations in Lockdown’, an album exploring themes of mortality, life after death and issues of liberty during the world wide lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Colin Clarke, from the classical music journal ‘Fanfare’ writing …
“Four stars. A most imaginative release, and a poignant reaction to past and continuing world events”
Matthew released his follow up album ‘the Tree of Life’ later in 2022.
Drawing on his spiritual connection to Kabbalah, and using instruments such as the didgeridoo, pipe organ, oud, strings and electric guitar, Matthew aimed to create a unique sonic texture that captured what mystics describe as the energy of existence.
Eric Strangeland, from the podcast ‘Mixtapes’ remarking…
“Really interesting music with strong melodies.”
Recent projects (2024 - the present)
In 2023 Matthew was commissioned by Bexley music to write ‘Amigos’, for massed choir (c.200 children), rock band, and chamber ensemble, receiving its premier February 2024 at ‘the Fairfield Halls’ SE London.
The large scale work, about the theme of unity and the power of friendship, paying homage to the sound and spirit of flamenco, combining strong rhythmic themes with improvised melodic sections.
In March (2024), Matthew’s string music for the Darcy Weir UFO documentary ‘Transmedium…’ was released on Amazon prime. Matthew, himself a UFO enthusiast, described working with Darcy and the subject matter as “a labour of love”.
During the summer, Matthew released ‘the Nova Suite’, a collection of commemorative pieces for two cellos, in memory of the young people killed at the Nova festival, Israel, on October the 7th. (When the time is right, a performance of the work will take place.)…
Currently Matthew is working on several new commissions, including ‘Pieces for Pets’, a set of piano pieces being written for concert pianist Lydia Melleck. An animal lover, each piece, a character portrayal of animals that he has owned and/or, have made a lasting impression.
A proud independent artist, Matthew’s music has so far received over half a million streams on the streaming platform Spotify and played across 80 countries.
October 2024
