"You must believe in yourself, and be able to back it up" - Mat Fieldes '85
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Auckland Grammar School had a profound impact on Mat Fieldes' life, especially as a musician. "I really loved my time at the School. The discipline I learned there was influential in how I perform and teach, really how I live my life."

Mat played the piano and contemporary guitar growing up, and completed both a Music degree from the University of Auckland and a Master's degree in Performance from The Juilliard School, but was never a fan of playing in front of people. "These are instruments most often played solo and as a perfectionist, I would put huge pressure on myself, and was never happy with my performances."

Now an accomplished double bass and bass guitarist, Mat has found his place on stage. "With the bass guitar, you are always part of a team and rarely the focus of the group. However, the bass player has perhaps the most important and influential role in a group, as they provide the harmonic foundation and often the rhythmic foundation too."

Mat is now the solo bassist for Absolute Ensemble, an electro-acoustic crossover chamber orchestra. The group have performed at major halls around the world for the last two decades, such as the Sydney Opera House, Vienna Konzerhaus, St Denis Cathedral in Paris, the Sejong Grand Theatre in Seoul and under the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

"Bremen in Germany holds a special place for the group, as we have been invited to play there, perhaps a dozen times over the last 15 years. The performances have been memorable due to the collaborations we made. We played in an aircraft hangar next to a 747 with Lebanese Oud legend Marcel Khalife."

Although now based full-time in New York and having performed for a number of famous musicals including Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, and most recently Matilda, Mat has also performed a number of times in New Zealand, including with the Auckland Philharmonia to a crowd of over 200,000 people at the Auckland Domain. He has had several "very memorable" performances with Nathan Haines' band, a man Mat says was "a huge influence" in his early career.

One of his greatest professional accomplishments to date was performing on Joe Jackson's 2001 album Symphony, which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Instrumental Album. "I have played on four Grammy-nominated albums, which I think is a good reflection of the success I've had." In his own words, although he is now much more comfortable performing to crowds, "my most favourite place to play is in the recording studio, I love to record, especially when I can be creative at the same time."

Today, Mat is making a name for himself as a freelance musician in New York, and will perform as part of the band in Rocktopia, a six-week limited run performance on Broadway in March 2018. "The show includes a full orchestra and chorus. It is a really genius combination of symphonic works and classic rock, for example, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring goes into Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix."

Mat feels very privileged to be able to travel the world and play with some incredible musicians. However, he does understand the toll it can take on your system. "It's almost impossible to have a 'regular' sleep schedule, which is hard on your health. But I have absolutely no regrets and others shouldn't either, if there really is something you really want to do as a career.

"You must believe in yourself, and be able to back it up. As much as people may tell you that you are great, you always have to keep pushing yourself to be better."