Biography

Matthew Baker, born in Sydney, Australia, completed his Bachelor's degree with honors in Medieval Studies from the University of Sydney in 1997. With a background rooted in liturgical singing and oratorio, he relocated to Ireland in 2000 to join the choir of St. Patrick's National Cathedral, Dublin, as a Lay Vicar. Matthew later specialized in Baroque music, earning a Master of Music in Early Music Singing from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 2005, studying under notable teachers such as Michael Chance, Jill Feldman, Marius van Altena, Barbara Pearson, and Diane Forlano.

A frequent performer in oratorio and opera across the Benelux and France, Matthew has collaborated with esteemed directors including Jos van Veldhoven (Netherlands Bach Society, Utrechts Barok Consort), Jos Vermunt (Residentie Bach Ensemble), Françoise Lasserre (Akadêmia), Paul van Nevel (Huelgas Ensemble), and Christina Pluhar (L’Arpeggiata). His voice has graced stages at early music festivals in Utrecht, Antwerp, Bruges, Vézelay, and Saintes, and he has performed as a soloist with the City of London Sinfonia, the St Albans Bach Choir, and the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker.

In 2005, Matthew played the role of Sylvandre in Campra’s L’Europe Gallante under the direction of William Christie at the Ambronay Academy. A year later, he portrayed Giove and Nettuno in the first modern performance of Zamponi’s Ulisse al’ Isola di Circe at the Spring Festival in Brussels. That same year, he received the bass aria prize in Handel’s Messiah at the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Solistico, held by the Fondazione Seghizzi in Gorizia, Italy. In 2008, Matthew portrayed Apollo in a Baroque production of Handel’s Apollo e Daphne at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe during the Handel Festival.

Matthew's recordings include the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Brilliant) with director Jed Wentz, the Christus in Heinrich Schütz’s St. Matthew Passion (Zig-Zag), and Anima Dannata in Cavalieri’s La Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo (Alpha). Additionally, with the Dutch ensemble Le Nuove Musiche, he recorded Monteverdi’s complete madrigals for Brilliant Classics.