Matthew Hardy, ELMG Director
Matthew Hardy, Co-Founder
Matthew Hardy is a versatile and enterprising musician based in London; he is the musical director of five ensembles and has a busy schedule of conducting and teaching.
He is the Artistic Director of East London Music Group (ELMG), which he co-founded in 2015. With ELMG he has commissioned and premiered a variety of new works including Strange Joy and Antigone by Edward Nesbit; FRIDA by Paul Edlin, and 1936: An East London Uprising by Robin Haigh.
ELMG is active in community and educational work and has led several large scale projects with primary school children in East London, exploring local history and contemporary issues. In recent years Matthew has been heavily involved in higher education and community music making and is Musical Director of Southampton University Symphony Orchestra, CoMA London Ensemble, St Albans Rehearsal Orchestra, Bowes Park Community Choir, Pinsent Masons London Choir, and East London Community Band.
He is particularly interested in new music and has given many premieres by composers such as Sungji Hong, Edward Nesbit, Robin Haigh, Kate Whitley, Leo Geyer, and Gregory Rose. He recently appeared on BBC Radio 3 discussing Barricades by Lee Westwood, which was commissioned by Making Music’s Adopt a Composer scheme.
In the past he has also been Musical Director of choirs, orchestras, and bands at Imperial College, University College London, Queen Mary University of London, and University of the Arts London. As a guest he has also recently worked with Imperial College Symphony Orchestra, University of London Symphony Orchestra, Stockport Symphony Orchestra, London Moonlight Symphony Orchestra, National Schools Symphony Orchestra, Croydon Youth Orchestra, Minehead and Exmoor Music Festival Orchestra, London City Orchestra, Dulwich Symphony Orchestra, Hale Barns Festival Orchestra, and Pigotts Music Camp.
Matthew studied orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music with Peter Stark and Howard Williams, at Dartington International Summer School with Sian Edwards, and on the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Cardiff Conducting Days course with Martyn Brabbins. During his time at the RCM he assisted conductors Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Martyn Brabbins, and Jac van Steen.
Sarah Campbell, ELMG Director
Sarah Campbell, Co-Founder
Sarah was born in Wigan, Lancashire where she began learning cornet at the age of 8, and went on to attend the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School and Chetham’s School of Music. In 2009, she received a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music with Paul Beniston where she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree, before completing a Master of Arts in trumpet performance at the Royal Academy of Music.
Sarah was Joint Principal trumpet of Southbank Sinfonia in 2015 with whom she toured to Hong Kong and Italy as well as performing as a soloist with conductor, John Wilson. Her highlights included Natural Trumpet in the London Handel Festival, performances under Vladimir Ashkenazy and Antonio Pappano as well as a production of Peter Maxwell-Davies' The Lighthouse at the Royal Opera House with Jetta Parker Young Artists. Sarah was also invited to be a soloist at the high profile ‘Changing Britain’ event to perform Peter Maxwell-Davies’ Trumpet Sonata in the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre.
Sarah is currently working at the National Theatre where she has been an onstage musician in their productions of Exit the King, Threepenny Opera, Amadeus and also provided the recorded the music for Angels in America and new production I’m Not Running. Alongside this, Sarah is in demand as a freelance orchestral trumpet player, performing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Opera, Philharmonia Orchestra and with the London Sinfonietta at the BBC Proms, as well as touring to India with the European Concert Orchestra and most recently to St Petersburg with Melos Sinfonia.
Matthew Lomax, Assistant Producer
Matthew Lomax, Assistant Producer
Matthew is a composer and guitarist, based in East London. Having graduated from a Masters in Music and Composition from the Royal College of Music in 2019, he has been involved with project planning and management for music organisations and charities around the UK, as well as being involved with local community work as a workshop facilitator and performer.
Matthew has written for ensembles across the UK including Psappha Ensemble, The Cats Cradle Collective and No Dice Collective, as well as collaborated on works with painters, video artists, photographers, dancers and spoken-word poets.