Bass and conductor Matthew Best has been awarded Fellowship of the ⁩Royal Northern College of Music.

The award was presented by the conservatoire’s Head of Vocal Studies and Opera, ⁦Lynne Dawson.

Dawson said, “Matthew is an exceptional and inspirational teacher, now with a host of successful young singer students making headway into the profession. Always one with a wicked sense of humour, he reports that his agent liked to claim that he was his only artist ever to be made into a fridge magnet! The RNCM has been hugely fortunate to have a teacher and musician of Matthew’s calibre and integrity on our staff, and we wish him the very best in the future.”

Best founded the Corydon Singers in 1973, then just 16 years old, and studied as a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and at the National Opera Studio. He made his professional debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as a company bass in 1980, and performed nearly 100 operatic roles in over 100 cities worldwide. He was well known for performing the roles of Wotan, Kurwenal, Amfortas, Scarpia, and Commendatore.

Best joined the conservatoire in Autumn 2015 as a Principal Study Tutor.