An 11-year-old Carlton boy will become the youngest person ever to conduct the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra next month.
Matthew Smith will make his debut on April 2 in a performance by the orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall.
He will be taking the lead for Strauss’ Die Fledermaus as part of Nottingham’s oldest orchestra’s ‘Animal Magic!’ extravaganza.
The 11-year-old Sneinton Primary School pupil plays the violin, guitar, drums, piano and viola.
Matthew said: “I first listened to Die Fledermaus when I was seven years old, I’d seen a video of a young child conducting the nine minute piece and really wanted to give it a go – I managed to conduct the whole thing a few weeks later.”
Matthew, who lives in Carlton with his parents, says he can now conduct the whole piece from memory and is excited put his skills to the test.
“I have been rehearsing with the orchestra for a couple of weeks now and it’s sounding really good. There are some difficult parts where the music gets faster so I have to move my arms more but I’m getting the hang of it,” He added.
‘Animal Magic!’ will also feature Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky’s Firebird and Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev.
Derek Williams, the regular conductor of Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, said: “I spotted Matthew’s musical talent very early on in his musical tuition as I’ve been teaching him the violin for five years.
“There aren’t many children who have the ability to conduct a 75-strong orchestra from memory and it’s a really incredible thing to witness.”
The concert is on Sunday, April 2 at 6pm and will be held at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall.
