Matthew Rooke has pursued a dual career as a creator in music and theatre and as a cultural administrator. As a composer he has written two operas, the most recent An Cadal Trom was premiered at Lammermuir Festival in 2018, involving a cast of 150.
He has recorded as a soloist for artists such as John Tavener; performed with contemporary artists like Nitin Sawhney; orchestrated for composers such as Henry Krieger (composer of Dream Girls), produced scores for the Royal National Theatre amongst numerous others; and worked on a range of film and TV projects, most recently on Netflix’s first major historical feature film, Outlaw King.
As an administrator, he has been Music Director of the Scottish Arts Council and designed Scotland’s national mentoring programme (The New Deal for Musicians). As a consultant, he advised on a number of capital developments in the arts in Scotland involving organisations such as Drake Music, Out of the Blue, Scottish Ballet at Tramway and the Brunton Hall. From 2012-2020 he was Artistic Director of The Maltings in Berwick, where he secured £15m of central government funding for its redevelopment. He has held ministerial appointments and recently been appointed to a second three-year appointment as Honorary Professor of Music and Theatre, University of St Andrews.
