Matthew Gardner

Second Violin

Member since 1996

‘LSO recordings with Previn and of the Star Wars soundtracks were a part of my childhood. I was drawn to the power of the Orchestra’s sound, and it always seemed like such a classy outfit. When I decided I wanted to be a violinist, I wanted to be an orchestral violinist, and the LSO was always my aspiration.’

Matthew Gardner began learning the violin at the age of five in Leamington Spa, at the insistence of his mother. He became rather good, so at the age of twelve began lessons at the junior Royal College of Music with Esther Boda Katona, moving to the senior Royal College as a scholar, studying with Itzhak Rashkovsky.

Whilst at the RCM, he won numerous awards and prizes and in his final year won a place on the LSO String Experience scheme, which led to him getting a position in the Second Violin section. Matthew has been closely involved in the LSO Discovery programme for over 20 years, and is in his thirteenth year as a member of the LSO Board and Committee. When not playing with the Orchestra, Matthew can be found in the gym trying to defy the ageing process.