Matt French

Matt studied at the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded the Sabian Percussion Prize on graduation. He was then accepted onto the prestigious Archer Scholarship, where he played with Bobby Lamb’s Trinity Big Band.

Since leaving the RCM, Matt has enjoyed a varied career which has seen him play with many orchestras including the Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Ulster Orchestra, RTE Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In addition to his orchestral work, Matt has played on countless musicals both on tour and in London’s glittering West End.

As a result of his extensive playing career, Matt has acquired a great many skills which he feels are essential for the working drum kit player and it is these skills which Matt feels he is able to bring to his teaching.

In his role as an educator, Matt is currently the drum kit teacher at the Royal College of Music Junior Department. He has also given classes at Trinity Laban School of Music and Dance and has tutored the National Youth Percussion Ensemble. Matt’s approach to teaching drum kit is entirely based on the needs of the individual. Once this is assessed, Matt has a wealth of experience and material from real-world playing situations, which he uses to tailor the lessons accordingly.

Matt has given classes for the Royal Marines and has been involved with several large-scale education projects, including several iterations of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama ‘Big Bash’, where he has given many group classes. Matt was also involved in the preliminary work on the percussion section of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony.