Charles Matthews

Charles Matthews is a versatile figure, active as an organist, pianist, harpsichordist, composer, and educator. He is notable among organists for his advocacy of contemporary music.

Matthews was born in 1966. He served as an organ scholar (an organist who performs at services in exchange for tuition discounts) at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1984, and went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London. Among his teachers have been Beryl Tichbon, Gwilym Isaac, and David Pettit. Matthews' recording career began while he was still a student, as he appeared in 1987 on a <a href="spotify:artist:3x8rZy1i6FwWOWKwfRT1Ab">Trinity College Choir</a> recording of Purcell's Anthems for the Chapel Royal. A first prize in 1999 at the Franz Liszt Organ Interpretation Competition in Budapest helped his career along, and he appeared on the Tewkesbury Abbey School Choir's 2002 album Eastertide. His interest in contemporary music also became visible during the 2000s decade as he contributed several albums to the Spire organ-and-electronics project. Matthews is a composer himself, and a collection of his works for flute and piano has been published by Schott Music.

Matthews has performed and recorded music for theatrical productions in Britain and Spain, including at England's Royal Opera and Royal Ballet. He continues to perform with Spire, and he works as a piano accompanist and organ tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Matthews is the organist of St. Catharine's Church, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, and is the music director of the Chipping Campden Festival Chorus. He is also a pianist, and in 2017, he backed violinist <a href="spotify:artist:5DZfsuU5HIXu7RGRWOwsnB">Julia Hwang</a> on the recital album Subito. Matthews returned in 2021 on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Albion%22">Albion</a> label with Lynn Arnold on a recording of Vaughan Williams' Suite for Four Hands; Matthews and Arnold have often performed four-hand piano music around the U.K., sometimes under the ensemble name Four Hands. During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and 2021, he recorded large numbers of accompaniments for double bass works for the String Virtuoso website. ~ James Manheim, Rovi