Catherine Matthews

Catherine Matthews started to learn the piano at age 4 and took up the clarinet in secondary school. After being a member of County Youth Orchestra and winning Music Festivals on Piano in Cumbria, she went on to study BA Hons in Performance for Classical Piano at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The highlight of her studies was winning the John Ireland Piano Prize and performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1.

After graduating she qualified to be a teacher and has been Head of Music and led the Arts Faculty at Ashby School for 28 years. During this time, she has also been Musical Director for Ashbiean Musical Theatre Group and The Tinhatters Theatre company at Hinckley Concordia. Catherine also conducted Meridian Windband in Solihull for 15 years as well as leading many successful ensembles and multiple Band Tours at Ashby School. This included many concerts in the East Midlands with local schools and community groups. 

As well as conducting, she has worked as an accompanist for Hinckley Concordia Youth Theatre as well as playing for numerous shows in the East Midlands as a pit musician. Alongside this she has accompanied for examinations, competitions and recitals as well as being a peripatetic piano and woodwind teacher.