About

Matthew Wood is an internationally acclaimed conductor, artistic leader, and producer whose career spans symphonic, operatic, ballet, and contemporary repertoire across Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Equally at home on the concert platform, in the opera house, and shaping artistic strategy, he has established a reputation for musical integrity, imaginative programming, and collaborative leadership.

In the United Kingdom, Wood has conducted many of the country’s leading ensembles, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Associate Conductor. In Australia, he has appeared with numerous state orchestras and served as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, he has also been a regular guest conductor with the Royal Swedish Opera, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile, and Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia in Madrid.

Wood’s acclaimed performances of Philip Glass’ Satyagraha have been a particular career highlight. Following his Swedish debut with Folkoperan Stockholm, he returned for subsequent performances and international tours, including engagements at Copenhagen’s Folketeatret and the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York. The glowing reviews praised the “clarity of musical lines and delicacy of intent … in the disciplined hands of Australian conductor Matthew Wood, who paces everything perfectly and shapes the long, slowly changing vocal lines with flair and imagination” (Clive Paget, Limelight Magazine).

Alongside his conducting career, Wood is increasingly recognised as an influential artistic programmer and producer. In 2021, he was appointed Head of Artistic Programming and Production for the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, where he played a leading role in reimagining the orchestra’s artistic vision and expanding the possibilities of symphonic programming. In 2025, he returned to Australia to assume the position of Director of Artistic Planning with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

A committed mentor and educator, Wood has been a regular guest conductor and lecturer at the  Royal Northern College of Music, where he held the position of Conducting Fellow. During this period, he was selected for the London Symphony Orchestra’s conductor development programme, working under the mentorship of Sir Mark Elder and Sir Colin Davis.

Wood graduated with First Class Honours in Composition from the University of New South Wales, before undertaking conducting studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He later studied with the renowned Finnish conductor and pedagogue Jorma Panula.