Personal statement

Matthew Sergeant is a composer whose research currently explores issues surrounding agency and materiality in music. His music has been frequently performed internationally including throughout the UK, the rest of Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and Australasia and his writings have appeared in major academic journals and edited collections.

Matthew's music has been commissioned and/or performed by internationally acclaimed ensembles including:

  • BCMG (UK)
  • CEPROMusic (Mexico)
  • Divertimento Ensemble (Italy)
  • ELISION Ensemble (Australia)
  • ensemble 10/10 (UK)
  • ensemble plus-minus (UK)
  • EXAUDI (UK)
  • the BBC Concert Orchestra (UK)
  • the BBC Singers (UK)
  • the London Symphony Orchestra (UK)
  • The House of Bedlam (UK)
  • the Nieuw Ensemble (Netherlands) and
  • Trio Atem (UK).

Matthew also has numerous ongoing creative partnerships with emerging and established soloists, including:

  • Daryl Buckley (electric guitars)
  • Diego Castro Magaš (guitars)
  • Joshua Hyde (saxes)
  • Emma Lloyd (violins)
  • Melinda Maxwell (oboe) and
  • Tristram Williams (trumpets).

Matthew’s work has featured at major international festivals, including:

  • Festival Musica (France)
  • hcmf// (UK)
  • Sirga Festival (Spain)
  • Sydney International Festival (Australia) and
  • the BMIC Cutting Edge Series (London, UK).

Matthew studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) before reading for his PhD at the Centre for Research in New Music (CeReNeM) at the University of Huddersfield, supervised by Bryn Harrison and Liza Lim.

Academic qualifications

  • BMus (Hons), Royal Northern College of Music
  • MPhil, Royal Northern College of Music
  • PhD, Huddersfield
  • FHEA

 

Professional memberships

  • Performing Rights Society

 

Areas of expertise

  • Composition
  • 20th/21st Century Musicology
  • Notation
  • Philosophy and Aesthetics of New Music

Research outputs

Compositions:

  • The Velvet Rage​ (2017, for flute, voice, cello, and electronics) - c.20' for Trio Atem (UK)
  • Lichen (2016, for solo electric lap-steel guitar) – variable duration 12’+ for Daryl Buckley/ELISION Ensemble (Australia)
  • Terrains (2016, for solo quarter-tone flugelhorn with preprations) – 12’ - for Tristram Williams/ELISION Ensemble (Australia)
  • Place (2015, for ensemble) - variable duration 8’+ – for CEPROMusic (Mexico)
  • betê gabriel-rufael (2015, for saxophone, percussion and computer-controlled click track)- flexible dur. c.8-25 – for scapegoat (France)
  • KISS (2014, for violin with twine bow) – Flexible dur. c.240-360’ – for Emma Lloyd (UK)
  • Shell (2014, for solo unspecified voice) – c.2’ – for Nina Whiteman (UK)
  • ymrehanne krestos (2013, for brass and percussion)- c.13’- for ELISION Ensemble (Australia)
  • bet denagel (2013, for solo baroque violin) - variable duration (12’+) - for Emma Lloyd (UK)
  • bet ammanuel (2012, for four solo voices) - c.8’ - for EXAUDI (UK)
  • passion bleeds into salt (2009/rev.2012) - c.10’ - for Divertimento Ensemble (Italy)
  • bet merkorios (2012, for solo violoncello) – c.20’ for Thomas Bayman (UK)
  • bet giyorgis (2011, for 11 players) - c.20’, for The Nieuw Ensemble (Netherlands)
  • bet maryam (2011, for solo guitar) - 6’ - for Callum Dewar (UK)
  • someone threw a dead dog after him down the ravine, (2010, for clarinet and piano), c.20’, for Michael Perrett (UK)
  • turrell (2009, for Orchestra) - c.12’ – for the BBC Concert Orchestra (UK)
  • the temples at ogden and provo (2009, for solo oboe and ensemble) – c.18’ - for BCMG (UK)
  • three visions in a grove of trees (2009, for 11 players) – c.15’– for Ensemble 10/10 (UK)
  • five visions from the book of enoch (2009, for solo organ) – c.10’ – for Tom Bell (UK)
  • but today we collect ads (2009, for Orchestra)– c.5’– London Symphony Orchestra (UK)
  • heard weeping under the boughs of hemlock trees (for solo ‘cello) – c.5’ – for BCMG (UK)
  • this was not a film about a drowning man (2009, for soprano saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, cello and electronics) – 8’ – for the house of bedlam (UK)

 

Published Scores:

  • Sergeant, M. (2012) ‘bet giyorgis’ (for 12 players), University of York Music Press (2012)
  • Sergeant, M (2015) ‘bet maryam,’ on Shrouded Mirrors [CD]. Diego Castro, electric guitar. Huddersfield: Huddersfield Contemporary Records. HCRCD10.
  • Sergeant, M (2013) ‘bet giyorgis,’ on Zeta Potential [CD]. Huddersfield: Huddersfield Contemporary Records. HCRCD07.
  • Sergeant, M. (2011) ‘Toccata,’ on Northern Lights: Contemporary Works for Organ [CD]. London: London Independent Records.

Audio Recordings:

  • Sergeant, M (2015) ‘bet maryam,’ on Shrouded Mirrors [CD]. Diego Castro, electric guitar. Huddersfield: Huddersfield Contemporary Records. HCRCD10.
  • Sergeant, M (2013) ‘bet giyorgis,’ on Zeta Potential [CD]. Huddersfield: Huddersfield Contemporary Records. HCRCD07.
  • Sergeant, M. (2011) ‘Toccata,’ on Northern Lights: Contemporary Works for Organ [CD]. London: London Independent Records.

Conference Papers:

  • ​'Three Questions: A Short Position Statement on Compositional Making', part of '​Sound Substance(s): Practice-based understandings of Compositional Making,​' Royal Musicological Association Annual Conference,​ ​University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 7-9 September 2017​ [Convener]
  • 'Queered Orientation(s): Re-imagining the taxonomy and interrelation of musical materials in The Velvet Rage (2017)' MuSA 2017: Eighth International Symposium on Music and Sonic Art: Practices and Theories, Institut für Musicology and Musikwissenschaft und Musikinformatik, Hochschule für Musik, Karlsruhe, Germany, 6 – 9 July 2017.
  • Sergeant, M (2016) ‘Composing Intra-actions: Instrument(s) as Baradian apparatus’. Seventh International Symposium on Music and the Sonic Arts: Practices and Theories. Karlsruhe. Germany (30 June – 3 Jul 2016)
  • Sergeant, M (2015) ‘Composed Hybridity: A lichenological perspective on my recent compositional praxis’. Ninth International Conference on Music Since 1900. Glasgow, UK (16.09.15).
  • Sergeant, M (2013) ‘Invoking the interface of the fantastic: Todorov, music and composition.’ Fourth Annual Symposium on Music/Sonic Art: Practices and Theories. Karlsruhe, Germany (24-26 May 2013)
  • Sergeant,   (2013) "Introducing ‘Re-coupling’:  The  Compositional  Appropriation of  Instrumental  Physicality to  disrupt Pattern-based Musical  Materials" Athens: ATINER'S Conference Paper Series, No:
  • ART2013-0451. (Pulished online.)
  • Lloyd, and  Sergeant,  M.  (2013) "The  Instrument  as a Roughened  Canvas:  Embracing Timbral Indeterminacy  in Composition  and Performance" Athens: ATINER'S Conference Paper Series, No:  ART2013-0450. (Published online.)