Born in Sydney, Matthew Coorey holds a degree in French horn from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. After launching a professional French horn career with Australia’s leading ensembles, he turned to conducting, making his debut at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, and subsequently leading the Ensemble Antarctica in a concert featuring premieres by Georges Lentz and Penderecki. After conducting for only six months, he became a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center (1999), where he worked with Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Robert Spano, and Jorma Panula. He took part in the Kirill Kondrashin Master Course in Holland (2000), where he worked with Peter Eotvos, Eri Klas, and Ton Koopman, and made his European debut leading the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. In Australia, he has conducted the State Orchestra of Victoria and the Symphony Orchestras of Sydney and Melbourne. In 2001 he was a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. This fall, he will take up the position of Junior Conductor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and will release his first commercial recording for Naxos Records of works by Georges Lentz recorded with Ensemble 24.