Matthew Kofi Waldren (pronouns: he/him) is a British conductor with a mixed British and Ghanaian ancestry. Matthew Kofi regularly engages in ambitious new work, as well as being known for his work in the core repertoire. He has taken opera out of its traditional home to venues that include Wilton’s Music Hall, Wilderness Festival, Camp Bestival and Harvest Festival with English National Opera (ENO) and Opera Holland Park (OHP). With OHP he conducted London’s first Relaxed opera performance, Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
He collaborated with Neo-Soul singer, Tawiah, for Opera North, for whom he also conducted the soundtrack for a new animation of act 3 of La bohème, La petite bohème, which re-imagines Marcello and Musetta as a gay couple. For Welsh National Opera he will conduct a major new work, Migrations, which explores themes around migration, including slavery, colonisation, and climate change. Matthew Kofi has mentored young artists at OHP, led workshops and master classes at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Durham University, and conducted students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Opera School. Matthew Kofi regularly collaborates with the Chineke! Orchestra and Chineke! Junior Orchestra.