Matthew McAllister

About Matthew

Scottish musician Matthew McAllister is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and talented classical guitarists in Europe. McAllister has been delighting audiences worldwide with his exquisite performances and effortless presentation for over a decade. "The sweetness of McAllister's elegant tone and fluent phrasing soothed the audience," wrote Guitar magazine. Born in Falkirk and raised in the East Neuk of Fife, McAllister studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama with Allan Neave. Towards the end of his studies, McAllister toured with Scottish Ballet, performed at The Simon Bolivar Guitar Festivals held at The Venezuelan Embassy in London, and appeared on both the BBC and Spanish Television. Since graduating with Bachelor of Music with Honors in 2003, he has enjoyed continued success and is a regular performer and educator at classical guitar festivals and concert series worldwide. McAllister made his debut at the prestigious Concertgebouw Concert Hall in Amsterdam in 2009 and returned there in 2015; both performances were broadcast live by Radio 4 (National Broadcaster of the Netherlands) on the Spiegelzaal Show. McAllister made his London debut in the Purcell Room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2007 and most recently was presented by the Iberian & Latin American Music Society Series at St. Martin in the Fields in 2015. McAllister has toured extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia both as a soloist and chamber musician. McAllister has produced an extensive discography with Baros Records, with 10 critically acclaimed albums to his name. As an educator, Matthew holds the posts of Lecturer in Classical Guitar Tutor at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and is Director of the Classical Guitar Retreat summer course on the Island of Cumbrae off the West Coast of Scotland.