Matthew Martin

Matthew Martin is active as an organist, composer, and educator. He serves as Precentor and Director of College Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Martin was born in 1976 in the U.K. He studied music at Magdalen College, Oxford University, remaining in the program and earning a master's degree with honors in 1997. He went on for further study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, earning all of the school's organ prizes, and rounded out his education with lessons from <a href="spotify:artist:71DVPBXILu9RWED4ROAZHK">Marie-Claire Alain</a> in Paris. In 1998, Martin made his recording debut as an organist with the <a href="spotify:artist:1iZZQ9LJg4rERzOzLwjkRW">Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford</a>, on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Isis+Records%22">Isis Records</a> release Praise Him All Ye Angels. Martin was appointed organist and choirmaster at the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford and assistant organist at New College, Oxford, in 2000. In 2002, he moved to Canterbury Cathedral as an organist; there, he performed at the enthronement ceremony for Archbishop Rowan Williams. Martin became Assistant Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in 2004, where he performed frequently (he performed complete organ works of <a href="spotify:artist:0AFbebB7EpLm1qzqBRwyWt">Jehan Alain</a> over a five-concert series) and oversaw the cathedral choir in its daily duties.

In 2010, Martin left his post at Westminster Cathedral to devote more time to composition. His works have been commissioned by <a href="spotify:artist:3vENFkiF5PZRluBBtQiwcG">The Tallis Scholars</a>, the Gabrieli Consort, and <a href="spotify:artist:5y9NnD1AZPcBVbDluRgiXS">The Sixteen</a>, among others. As of the mid-2020s, some 35 of his compositions have been recorded. In 2013, he won the liturgical category prize at the British Composer Awards, and he composed an anthem, In the Midst of Thy Temple, for the 750th anniversary of the re-founding of Westminster Abbey. In 2015, Martin became director of music at Keble College, Oxford, and in 2020, he moved to the post of Precentor and director of music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University, devoting his time to organ performance, choral conducting, composition, and research. Martin led the <a href="spotify:artist:7gMWc6xtymW2WHb3qTixLQ">Choir of Keble College</a> in several recordings, and in 2023, he made his debut with the <a href="spotify:artist:1jgsAqcyESy8Jp8VIFYMJk">Choir of Gonville & Caius College</a> on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Linn+Records%22">Linn Records</a> album Philips & Dering: Motets. ~ James Manheim, Rovi