Matthew Hockaday
Clarinet - Piano - Recorder
"Music is the best way to explore your inner self and
the pursuit of it can fulfil ones life forever."
Matthew was born in 2007 in Great Britain, where he lived until he was 6 years old. He then moved with his family to Olomouc in the Czech Republic. He considers himself a multi-instrumentalist. He devotes himself to playing three musical instruments at the highest level – clarinet, recorder and piano. For five years he also took solo singing lessons.
In 2019, he entered the eight-year Hejčín Grammar School in Olomouc. In September 2023, he transferred to the Grammar and Music School of the Capital City of Prague, where he studies clarinet with Prof. Milan Polák as his main instrument and piano with Hana Dvořáková as a second instrument. He privately takes recorder lessons with Michaela Koudelkova, a professional recorder player.
He is the winner of the 2021 Golden Nut nationwide competition for gifted and talented children and a three-time winner of the Talent of the Olomouc Region Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023 in the Arts Category.
In the 2022/2023 school year, he was part of the MenArt scholarship program, where he studied piano under the guidance of Czech pianist doc. Ivo Kahánek. In the 2023/2024 school year, he was again selected for the MenArt program, where he studied clarinet under the guidance of doc. Irvin Venyš.
Matthew is principal clarinet in two British Youth Orchestra´s, the Kent Youth Wind Orchestra (KYWO) and the Kent County Youth Orchestra (KCYO). He also attends various master classes for the clarinet, recorder and piano under the guidance of prominent Czech and foreign teachers. He regularly participates in national and international competitions, in which he achieves excellent results.
He has been a guest on several radio stations (Radio Proglas, Radio Junior, Czech Radio) and television programs (Golden Nut, Good Morning).
In addition to music Matthew is a keen sportsman having previously been a competitive artistic gymnast. When he is not practising his instruments he enjoys calisthenics, endurance running (marathons), mountain hiking, Bikram yoga, table tennis, skiing, swimming, and reading books.