Tahu John Parke Matheson (born 1977) is an Australian classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and conductor. He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, grew up in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and currently resides in London.

Career

Piano

Tahu began his piano studies at the age of five with his father, international conductor John Matheson. He has studied piano with

Kalle Randalu Kalle Randalu (born 25 November 1956) is an Estonian pianist. Randalu was born in Tallinn, and trained at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Vlassenko. In 1981-82 Randalu was awarded two competition prizes: he shared the VII Tchaikovsky Competit ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and with Oleg Stepanov and

Natasha Vlassenko Natalia Lvovna "Natasha" Vlassenko (Russian: Ната́лья Льво́вна Вла́сенко; born 20 November 1956) is a Russian-Australian pianist and teacher. Life Natasha Vlassenko was born in Moscow, Soviet Russia, to pianist Le ...

at the

Queensland Conservatorium of Music Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (formerly the Queensland Conservatorium of Music) is a selective, audition based music school located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and is part of Griffith University. History The Conservatori ...

, where he completed his Master of Music. In 1995 Tahu won the Queensland Piano Competition and made his professional debut in 1996 with a solo recital at the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

International Festival of the Arts. He performed with the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

in 1997 and was invited to record by Kiwi-Pacific Records. Tahu has also performed widely in Australia, both with the Orchestras and solo, and has toured Australia for

Musica Viva Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble per ...

. Tahu was also awarded the Hilda Woolmer Prize for Best Piano Accompaniment and is a recipient of the Brisbane Club award for 2000. Tahu has also toured for Chamber Music New Zealand, and has been broadcast on New Zealand and Australian radio and television. Tahu is a member of Fusion Piano Duo with Lana Higson.

Conducting

Tahu made his conducting debut in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

with the Southern Cross Soloists. At the end of 2005 he was invited to London to conduct a new opera "Nelson" for the Trafalgar Bicentenary, featuring

Jeffrey Black Jeffrey Black (born September 6, 1962) is an Australian baritone who has had an active international performance career since the early 1980s. A frequent performer with Opera Australia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he has performed lead ...

in the title role. Tahu also conducted The Australian Amadeus Players (Mozart Symphonies 40 & 41) in the opening concert for the 2006

4MBS 4MBS Classic FM is an Australian community radio station which broadcasts classical music from Brisbane at a frequency of 103.7 MHz, as well as on digital radio and online. Operations Its operations are conducted by about 300 volunteers a ...

Festival of Classics. Since 2007, Tahu has been working as a conductor with the

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

Trivia

*Tahu is known for his height - he is *His first name comes from the Maori tribe

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

*He is 1/16 Maori *As a teenager he wanted to grow up huge like Arnold Schwarzenegger

References

External links

Tahu's Myspace Site

4MBS Classic FM Musician in Residence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Tahu 1977 births Living people Australian classical pianists Male classical pianists Australian conductors (music) Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century classical pianists People educated at Brisbane State High School 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians