Baritone Matthew Leese is fast becoming known as a versatile baritone, voice teacher and director, specializing in early music, art song and opera. He has founded three critically acclaimed ensembles, the ‘Otago Camerata’, ‘the bath street studio’ and most recently Millikin's own early music ensemble 'Gravitación'. Extensive performing experience includes numerous recital and oratorio credits, as well as lead roles in 'Dido and Aeneas', 'l'Euridice', 'Venus and Adonis', 'Cephale et Procris', ‘The Tide’ and ‘The Telephone’. In New Zealand Matthew has premiered the contemporary roles of Frank in 'Outrageous Fortune' by Gillian Whitehead and Man in 'The Trapeze Artists' by Anthony Ritchie. Other ensemble experience includes work with the Tower New Zealand Youth Choir, Pro Arte Singers, Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana, the Catacoustic Consort, Ensemble Lipzodes and Fenix de los Ingenios. Matthew holds the MMus in Early Music from Indiana University, a GPDip In Historical Performance from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA and a MusBHons from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

www.geocities.com/mattleesekiwi
www.millikin.edu/gravitacion