Corvin Matei
Conductor, Flute player and esteemed teacher, Corvin Matei is the founder and Music Director of the Cape Town Concert Orchestra and the Music Director of the Stellenbosch University Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Romania in 1953, he matriculated with distinction from the Bucharest High School of Music, majoring in Flute. He auditioned successfully at the Bucharest Conservatoire of Music, where he remained until 1976. During this period of his studies, he gave numerous flute and chamber music recitals, recorded for Romanian Radio-Television and was invited to attend international festivals in Germany (including Bayreuth), Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, France, Spain and Italy. He also attended orchestral conducting courses and master classes with prominent Romanian conductors.
After graduating with a Master’s Degree from the Bucharest Conservatoire in 1976, Matei auditioned and was appointed at the “G. Enescu” Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played for seven years under conductors such as Celibidache and Mazur, amongst others. During his seven years with this orchestra, he also appeared as soloist with other leading orchestras in Romania and taught flute at the Bucharest High School of Music. It was during this time that he became interested in conducting and attended Witold Rovitscki’s Summer Master Classes in Vienna, and Celibidache’s Master Class in Bucharest. He also recorded intensively for Romanian Radio-Television, and was awarded first prize in the Romanian National Competition in 1976 and 1983.
After defecting Romania in 1983, he studied conducting with Professor Erich Kluge form the Cologne Conservatoire and performed both as soloist and conductor with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra during their tour to Southern France.
In 1985, after auditioned in Germany, Corvin Matei was appointed Principal Flute of the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra where he played for twelve years. During this period he also performed in solo concerts with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, the CAPAB Chamber Orchestra and the Bloemfontein Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, for over a year he played Principal Flute with the new Cape Philharmonic. He has also recorded for the SABC, and his first CD, Music for Flute and Harp has proved to be a great success. In the same year he was awarded a PhD by the University of Cape Town.
From 1997, after studying with Bernard Gueller (one of Celibidache’s best students), Matei has started a busy conducting schedule. He conducted the Sans Souci Orchestra, which performed numerous concerts in Cape Town Metropolitan area, and in a very successful production of “The Sound of Music”. The orchestra was awarded the coveted SAMRO Trophy in the 1999 Eisteddfod. In 2000, he was appointed Head of the Woodwind Department at Beau Soleil Music Centre and has conducted the Beau Soleil Symphony Orchestra for over three years. During this period he conducted numerous concerts at the City Hall in Cape Town and at various other venues, his repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy to Peter Louis van Dijk’s The Selfish Giant. In 2003, he participated in a Conducting Workshop held by Dr. Laszlo Maroszi from Florida University, and was chosen as one of the two conductors (from 28 conductors), to conduct at the Gala Concert. In the same year, he had his debut with the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra in two very successful concerts, and he was appointed Music Director of the Cape Sinfonia.
In 2004 Dr Matei was appointed as a senior flute lecturer at the Stellenbosch University Department of Music, and Music Director of the symphony orchestra. In the same year, he started his international career as a conductor, when he was invited to conduct three of Romania’s leading professional orchestras. In 2004, under his direction, the Stellenbosch University Symphony Orchestra won the category of best symphony orchestra, and it was the only symphony orchestra among 46 orchestras, to perform at the gala concert at the prestigious Tygerberg Competition. At present Dr Matei has a busy conducting schedule in South Africa and abroad.
For more information, please consult his website: http://www.mateicorvin.com
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