Donemus Webwinkel — Wright, Matthew

Born in Norwich UK in 1977, Matt grew up playing in orchestras, brass ensembles and funk bands.
He studied at the University of Huddersfield with hcmf// founder Richard Steintiz and notable UK composer Christopher Fox. During this formative experience in Huddersfield he met Stockhausen, Xenakis, Terry Riley and George Crumb. During this period, he also frequently travelled to London to study privately with Steve Martland.
At the start of the 21st century Matt moved to The Netherlands to study with Louis Andriessen, Martijn Padding and Richard Ayres at The Royal Conservatory, The Hague. He returned to the UK to study for a PhD with Roger Redgate at Goldsmiths College, London in 2004.
Matt is Professor of Composition and Sonic Art at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK, where he was Director of Research for Music, Dance and Drama between 2013 and 2022. He is an Associate Researcher at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent and was guest teacher at The Royal Conservatoire, The Hague in 2023.
He has supervised/co-supervised the PhDs of notable artists such as composer/producer Matthew Herbert and choreographer Russell Maliphant and is often in demand as a research consultant / mentor in the UK and abroad.
Matt Wright works internationally as a composer, turntablist, sound designer and record producer, working at the edges of contemporary concert and club culture. He makes dynamic fusions of musical notation, technology and improvisation with some of the world's leading contemporary artists, including Evan Parker, Claron McFadden, Peter Evans, Ensemble Klang, Bl!ndman, Ensemble Offspring, Alexander Hawkins, The Brodsky Quartet, Elaine Mitchener, The Six Tones and B'Rock orchestra.
Matt runs his own ensemble, Spheric Totemic, fusing notation, live DJ culture and some of the leading figures in creative music, including pianist Alexander Hawkins and violinist Mandhira de Saram. As a collaborator with Alex Hawkins, Matt has performed alongside US pioneers such as 'cellist Tomeka Reid, drummer Gerry Hemmingway and flutist Nicole Mitchell.
In 2017-18, Matt again collaborated with Bl!ndman and was musical director for Network at the National Theatre, directed by Ivo van Hove, with music by Eric Sleichim and starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle, Your Honor). The show reached over 67,000 people during its London run.
Matt is also an active collaborator with musicians in the jazz and rock fields, creating projects with Panos Ghikas (founder of avant pop band 'The Chap'), Keir Neuringer (co-founder of US free-jazz ensemble Irrevisible Entanglements) and Robert Stillman (saxophonist with The Smile).