Matthew William Tansley Stiff (born 13 December 1979 in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

), formerly credited as Matt Stiff, is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

and former radio presenter, best known as the former

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

singer with classical boyband G4.

Early life

Stiff began to play the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

at the age of eight, but later made the transition to singing, after which he attended Franklin College, then studied

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

at the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancel ...

where he gained his BMus (Hons) and MA in Musical Performance. While in Huddersfield, he took singing lessons with vocal coach Paul Wade who described him as "a great pupil".

G4

As a student at Guildhall where he studied for a

Postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

in vocal training, Stiff replaced bass singer Tom Lowe to become a member of G4 which also included final year undergraduates

Jonathan Ansell Jonathan Mark Ansell (born 10 March 1982) is an English singer, best known as the high tenor of the vocal group G4 (band), G4. Early life Influenced by his mother's tapes of Pavarotti and the Three Tenors, Ansell joined the West Sussex Boys' Cho ...

, Mike Christie, and

Ben Thapa Ben Vishala Thapa (born 2 March 1982) is an English opera singer, best known as the low tenor in G4 from 2004 to 2018. Born in Cambridge, Thapa was raised by a single mother from the age of four after his father left, and entered foster care wh ...

, who all started singing together to raise money and gain experience. In 2004 they later auditioned for the first series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' and despite placing second, signed a £1.5 million record deal with

Sony-BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...

. Their first album, titled '' G4'' was released in February 2005 and achieved double-platinum status. They went on to produce two more albums: ''G4 and Friends'' and ''G4 Act Three'' with combined sales in excess of 1.5 million copies. In 2007, after three years and three albums, G4 announced their split on ''

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

'' due to disagreements within the band. Lead singer Ansell later admitted that the two of them had rowed the most.

Post G4

In 2008, following a schedule overhaul at Classic FM, Stiff re-joined the station as a weekend presenter (he had previously hosted another show with the other members of G4), after which he returned to Guildhall in 2009 for a Master of Music Opera course, graduating with a Distinction in 2011. He has since joined a number of opera companies including the British Youth Opera where he played Kecal in ''The Bartered Bride'' to rave reviews.

References

External links

Matthew Stiff
Music International {{DEFAULTSORT:Stiff, Matthew 1979 births Classical music radio presenters Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama G4 (group) members People from Grimsby Alumni of the University of Huddersfield Living people Operatic basses English opera singers Musicians from Lincolnshire