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{{Short description|Australian classical pianist and conductor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
{{BLP sources||date=April 2018}}
'''Tahu John Parke Matheson''' (born 1977) is an Australian classical [[pianist]] and [[Conductor (music)|conductor]]. He currently resides in London.

==Early life==
'''Tahu John Parke Matheson''' was born in London. He is a descendant of the [[Ngāi Tahu]] tribe of Te Wai Pounamu. While his early years were spent in Germany and New Zealand, he moved to [[Brisbane]], Queensland, Australia in 1989 where he completed five years of secondary school education at [[Brisbane State High School]].

==Career==
===Piano ===
Tahu began his piano studies at the age of five with his father, international conductor John Matheson. He has studied piano with [[Kalle Randalu]] in [[Germany]], and with Oleg Stepanov and [[Natasha Vlassenko]] at the [[Queensland Conservatorium of Music]], where he completed his Master of Music.<ref name=AO>{{cite web |url=https://opera.org.au/artists/tahu-matheson |title=Tahu Matheson |work=About: Artists |publisher=[[Opera Australia]] |date=n.d. |access-date=17 April 2018 }}</ref>

In 1995 Tahu won the Queensland Piano Competition and made his professional debut in 1996 with a solo recital at the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts. He performed with the [[New Zealand Symphony Orchestra]] in 1997 and was invited to record by Kiwi-Pacific Records. Tahu has also performed widely in Australia, both with the Orchestras and solo, and has toured Australia for [[Musica Viva]]. Tahu was also awarded the Hilda Woolmer Prize for Best Piano Accompaniment and is a recipient of the Brisbane Club award for 2000.

Tahu has also toured for Chamber Music New Zealand, and has been broadcast on New Zealand and Australian radio and television.

Tahu is a member of [[Fusion Piano Duo]] with Lana Higson.

=== Conducting ===
Tahu made his conducting debut in [[Brisbane]] with the Southern Cross Soloists. At the end of 2005 he was invited to London to conduct a new opera "Nelson" for the Trafalgar Bicentenary, featuring [[Jeffrey Black]] in the title role. Tahu also conducted The Australian Amadeus Players (Mozart Symphonies 40 & 41) in the opening concert for the 2006 [[4MBS]] Festival of Classics. Since 2007, Tahu has been working as a conductor with the [[Opera Australia]].<ref name=AO/>

== Trivia ==
*Tahu is known for his height – he is {{convert|6|ft|7|in|m|order=flip}}
*His first name comes from the [[Māori people|Maori]] tribe [[Ngāi Tahu]]
*He is 1/16 Maori
*As a teenager he wanted to grow up huge like Arnold Schwarzenegger{{Citation needed|reason=Sept 2007|date=September 2007}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.myspace.com/tahumatheson Tahu's Myspace Site]
* [http://www.4mbsclassicfm.com.au/index.php?action=article&args=view&pg=21 4MBS Classic FM Musician in Residence]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Tahu}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian male classical pianists]]
[[Category:Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian conductors (music)]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian classical pianists]]
[[Category:People educated at Brisbane State High School]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian male musicians]]

Tahu Matheson - Revision history

imported>Dawnseeker2000: date format audit, link maintenance, MOS:GEOLINK, unlink common terms