Matthew has also guest-lead the viola sections in many of Britain’s most celebrated orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy St Martin-in-the-Fields, the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a regular guest at international chamber music festivals in the UK, Europe and South East Asia, often collaborating with world-famous artists.

For the past 28 years Matthew Souter has been a member of The Alberni String Quartet, one of Britain’s most distinguished ensembles and described in the New York Times as " one of the finest half dozen quartets in the world". The Alberni String Quartet succeeded The Amadeus String Quartet as Quartet in Residence at The Royal Academy of Music. Both in this capacity and also as an instrumental teacher Matthew Souter has been a Professor at The Royal Academy of Music in London for 18 years where he has attracted many exceptionally talented violists and violinists from across the world wishing to study with him. Many of whom now have gone on to enjoy highly distinguished musical careers themselves. Matthew Souter has also helped countless younger students to achieve exceptional scholarship places at the world’s finest conservatoires. One such pupil was awarded first prize in the 2021 Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition. Matthew Souter has given masterclasses worldwide including at the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, China and has been fortunate in his career to have been lent some outstanding instruments including a 1585 Gaspar da Salo and an Antonio Stradivari of 1696.

In 2022 the Alberni Quartet was awarded a special UK Heritage blue plaque to mark their outstanding contribution to musical culture across the world. Matthew Souter was made an honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2002.

As a conductor Matthew Souter has worked with orchestras in London, Hong Kong, Bahrain and China, but it was between 2008 and 2017 that Matthew Souter founded, trained and conducted ‘Wells Virtuosi’,  an especially dedicated group of talented young string players who together under his tutelage and baton achieved international recognition as an ensemble of exceptional quality - “probably the best school orchestra in the World”. In this capacity Matthew Souter has collaborated and performed with highly distinguished soloists including; countertenor Iestyn Davies, cellists; Robert Cohen, Julian Lloyd Webber and Jamie Walton, flautist Marina Piccinini and soprano Verity Wingate. 

Today, many former members of Wells Virtuosi have gone on to distinguish themselves as fine professional musicians performing in some of the World’s greatest orchestras and ensembles, several in principal positions. Through their common desire though to rekindle the exceptional qualities and joy that were inherent within Wells Virtuosi, a group of its former members approached Matthew Souter in 2024 to help them establish and develop as its new Artistic Director, the Finzi Chamber Orchestra, a fully professional chamber orchestra of outstanding and rare quality. 

"The joy and inspiration that we experienced through Wells Virtuosi was phenomenal....”

Eleanor Corr

Gold Medal winner Royal Overseas League competition and guest leader of numerous distinguished European ensembles including The Ulster Orchestra.

Matthew Souter is widely recognised a passionate educationalist and has for decades been at the forefront of British musical education. He is a staunch defender of children being provided with an appropriate, nurturing and safe environment in which they can grow and excel. The countless and extraordinary testimonials from his former Wells Cathedral School students and other notable authorities bear this out. Please see 'Testimonials' on

Matthew is married to distinguished violinist, leader of the celebrated Alberni String Quartet and disability discrimination campaigner Karin Leishman. They live in Somerset and have three grown up children.

“Mr. Souter’s passion for music was contagious and there was no one more supportive in every aspect of my music and time at school than him. I can say with confidence that there are many, many other students who would agree.

I have almost entirely Ms. Leishman and Mr. Souter to thank for everything that made Wells so special to me and it is very important to me to express this as their support affected not only my life during those two years, but still does having moved on from school.”

Gwyneth Nelmes

Professional violinist and graduate Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

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“Thanks to Karin Leishman and Matthew Souter of the Alberni Quartet, whose musical brilliance and magical home helped inspire this book” (‘Night Music’)

Jojo Moyes

New York Times bestselling author, ‘Me Before You’ - selling 15 million copies worldwide.

Multi award-winning screen adaptation

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Artistic Director

“In complete command of his instrument” and “very musical in the finest way...”, so wrote the world-famous conductor Antal Dorati about Matthew Souter when proposing him for the principal viola position in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at just 22 years of age. Leonard Bernstein and Claudio Abbado, who Matthew Souter also worked with in a principal capacity likewise took a personal interest in his early career; Abbado described him as “an outstanding viola player”.

As a soloist he has performed across the world both as a recitalist and with professional orchestras from the UK, Europe, Russia and South East Asia. He has recorded and broadcast as a soloist on the BBC, NHK, Deutsche Rundfunk networks and on CD for Signum Classics, Regent Records and Hyperion.