Dr Matt Collins is a composer and researcher specialising in instrumental and electroacoustic composition, with a particular focus on mixed electroacoustic music. He completed a DPhil in Music at the University of Oxford in 2024, where he was supervised by Professor Martyn Harry and Professor Gascia Ouzounian and supported by an AHRC DTP studentship.
Matt's doctoral research examined the role of timbre in shaping aesthetic relationships between acoustic and electronic instruments in mixed electroacoustic music, and developed an original analytical framework for understanding how composers achieve timbral blend between these instruments. His compositional research alongside this explored timbre as both an expressive and structural compositional resource.
As part of his doctorate, Matt undertook a period of academic exchange at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen between 2021 and 2022, where he was supervised by Professor Michael Edwards and supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Earlier in his studies at Brunel University of London, Matt was awarded the Griffin Prize for Music, the University Prize for Arts & Humanities, and the British and Foreign School Society Prize.
Matt has also taught at the University of Oxford and Brunel University of London, with experience spanning composition, musicology, and music psychology.
Matt's music has been performed by a variety of soloists and ensembles, including CHROMA, Brother Tree Sound, Nadia Ratsimandresy, Apartment House, and Berglind María Tómasdóttir. In 2026, Matt will present a paper at Timbre 2026 in Montréal and is currently writing a new work for classical guitar and live electronics for Tom Smith (Goldsmiths, University of London).
For more details about Matt's compositions, recordings, and performances of his works, see here.