Matthew Rhodes

26, United Kingdom

Matthew Rhodes graduated with his Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, and the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo. Prior to this, he graduated with a Bachelors degree from the prestigious conducting department of the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki.

In the upcoming season of 2025/26, Matthew will make his Season concert debut with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, with whom he first worked in 2023. In the winter, Matthew will be conducting the revival of Johan Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Sweden’s Vattnäs Konsertlada, the original of which he conducted in Season 23/24, and in the spring Matthew will be working with the Italian Ministry of Culture to conduct one of four new productions of Puccini’s Turandot in a Global collaboration to mark the 100th anniversary of the premiere.

In the season of 24/25, Matthew returned to Malmö Symphony Orchestra for several concerts following his successful debut with them in Season 23/24. Also in the season of 23/24, Matthew appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and the WDR and Gurzenich Orchestras (as part of the German Conductors award).

In the season of 22/23, Matthew made his Debut, in two concert productions, with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Belgium. In addition to this, he returned for concerts with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra of Norrlands Opera, and Västerås Sinfonietta. In April 2023, Matthew was invited to join the talent development programme of Symfonie Orkest Vlaanderen, Belgium. Other highlights of previous seasons include two chamber Opera productions with the Swedish Royal Academy of Music to celebrate their 250th anniversary year.

Furthermore, Matthew was the youngest semi-finalist of the 2023 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in which he worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, and competed at the 2023 Mahler Competition with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. In June 2024, he competed in the Semi-finals of the ICCR competition in Rotterdam.

In August 2022, Matthew was invited to participate in the Fiskars Summer Festival (Finland), being mentored by conductors such as Jukka Pekka Saraste, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Hannu Lintu and Dalia Stasevska. In the summer of 2024, Matthew attended the Tanglewood Summer Festival, being mentored by conductor Stefan Asbury.

Over the past few years, Matthew has taken numerous workshops and masterclasses with conductors such as, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Stéphane Denève, Jorma Panula, David Zinman, Johannes Schlaefli, Bjarte Engeset, Gerard Korsten, and Sian Edwards. In March 2020, Matthew was invited to take part in the Critical Orchestra program, organised by the Deutsche Dirigentenforum and led by Simone Young (conductor) and Lothar Strauss (Concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin). He has also assisted Simone Young during her Guest conducting engagement with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2020 and again during her visit to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2021.

Matthew is generously supported by the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, and the Sverker & Birgitta Lerheden Stipendiefund. And in the past has been supported by the Sibelius Academy Foundation, and the Royal College of Music, Stockholm.

Matthew is represented by Eliasson Artists Management – Stockholm.

Instagram: @matthewrhodes2008