Matthew Searles is Master of the Music at Buckfast Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery in Devon, England.
He is responsible for all aspects of the musical life of the Abbey, including the daily Mass and Office, direction of the Abbey Choir, and is Executive Producer of the in-house record Label, Ad Fontes.
Matthew joined the Abbey in 2018 as Assistant Master of the Music, during which time he helped to re-establish a treble line of choristers drawn from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, and accompanied Midnight Mass at the conclusion of the Abbey’s millennium year, televised live on BBC One. Prior to moving to Buckfast, Matthew was Sub-Organist of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral where he accompanied the Cathedral Choir in the daily liturgies on the iconic Walker organ.
Matthew is a prizewinning graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London, where he received First Class Honours and the Driver Prize for ‘outstanding musical performance’. As Organ Scholar at Royal Holloway, Matthew worked with Rupert Gough and the Chapel Choir, whom he accompanied in regular services, concerts, recordings, broadcasts and tours. These included appearances at St John’s Smith Square, St Martin-in-the-fields, live on BBC Radio 3, and on multiple discs for the Hyperion label. In his final year, Matthew played for the ceremony in celebration of the music department Regius Professorship, in the presence of H. M. Queen Elizabeth II.
Matthew continued his studies, in both organ and harpsichord, at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Poitiers, France. His teachers have included Andrew Reid and Olivier Houette. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.