Matthew Orange was born in December 1978. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London, principal study bassoon with Martin Gatt, Julie Price and Andrea de Flammineis, and second study flute with Christopher Hyde-Smith. After obtaining the BMus(hons) degree in 2001, he won a full scholarship sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust at the Royal Academy of Music, to study for a Postgraduate Diploma with John Orford and Gareth Newman and was awarded Distinction (2002). During his study he received numerous prizes at both conservatoires. In 2001 he won silver medal in the Shell LSO Competition and was a principal member of the EUYO. Matthew has played in various British and European international orchestras as principal and co-principal and continues to freelance as a bassoonist. He became guest principal with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2004. Matthew played at the Purcell Room under the Park Lane Group in January 2006 with the trio Triptych which followed recitals at the Wigmore Hall in January 2007. While studying at the RAM, Matthew also took composition lessons supervised by Simon Bainbridge. Following this new creative path lead him to complete the Masters Course in Composition at Trinity Laban in July 2008, supported by the Leverhulme and the Ludwig Lebell scholarships. Matthew studied composition under Deirdre Gribbin, Edward Jessen, Paul Newland and Stephen Montague and also extensive electronic techniques under Sebastian Lexer. He specialises in collaborative projects with contemporary dance using electronics, as well as composing instrumental, orchestral and choral works. His music has been performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall through the Park Lane Group, also at the Barbican and in 2010, collaborated with choreographers of contemporary dance for The Place Prize in London where his music was highly praised by the Guardian. Matthew has explored the use of world instruments in his music and learnt how to play a variety of Chinese bamboo flutes including the dizi and xiao flutes, which he plays and composes for. Future projects include composing artistically and commercially with filmmaking companies. Matthew pursues both performing and composing with equal passion combining the two for either collaborative or personal projects, as well as individual career paths.