Czech-American violinist and composer Matteo Hager, born in Prague in 2003, began playing the violin at the age of four. After completing the Music Gymnasium in Prague, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Professor Rodney Friend. For his outstanding achievements at the Royal Academy, he received both the Homi Kanga Prize and the Alumni Development Scholarship Prize. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Violin Performance under Professor Emily Sun at the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded a full merit-based scholarship.
 

In 2023, Matteo was recognized as one of the world's "Rising Stars" by BBC Music Magazine, and in 2025, he was awarded the prestigious Musicians' Company Silver Medal, presented annually to the most outstanding conservatoire students in the United Kingdom.
 

Matteo is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions, including the Czech National Music Competition, the J. Micka Violin Competition, the Václav Hudeček Academy, the France Music Competition, the Augustin Aponte Competition in Spain, the Note di Talento Competition in Italy, and the International Showcase Music Competition in Hamburg. He received the Gold Medal at the Manhattan International Music Competition, the Award for Exceptional Talent at the Kroměříž Academy, and the top prize at the 2025 Antonín Dvořák Classical Music Competition.

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He has performed as a soloist across three continents and collaborated with esteemed conductors including Jack Gonzalez-Harding, Tomáš Netopil, Radek Baborák, Alena Hron, Chuhei Iwasaki, Tomáš Brauner, Marek Šedivý, Petr Vronský, Jan Kučera, and Naci Özgüç. Matteo has appeared as a soloist with renowned orchestras including the Barbican Sinfonia, Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Prague Philharmonia, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Soloists, the Central London Orchestra, the Ukrainian-Czech Sinfonietta, I Virtuosi di Kyiv, and the Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra, among others.
 

As a soloist, he has performed at many distinguished festivals, including the Mayfield Festival, Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague, the Lednice–Valtice Music Festival, Pardubice Music Spring, and Festival Krumlov. As a laureate of the Ševčík Academy, he performed at the Konzerthaus Berlin during Young Euro Classic 2024. As a laureate of the International Showcase Music Competition, he also appeared at the Winners' Concert at the Elbphilharmonie-Laeiszhalle in Hamburg.
 

In addition to his performing career, Matteo is an accomplished composer. As a laureate of the 2022 Showcase of Young Talented Soloists and Composers, he performed his original composition Threnody at the Rudolfinum as part of Dvořák Prague. As the winner of the Young Talent Performance Competition in Ostrava, Matteo premiered his own Violin Concerto with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava in February 2026. His Toccata for piano trio was premiered at Prague Spring 2026. His Violin Sonata was recently recorded by VOCES8 Records. Matteo also composed music for the feature film Endless Summer, three theatre productions, and several documentary films.
 

Matteo's achievements have been supported by several prestigious awards and grants, including the ABRSM Scholarship, the Albert Cooper Music Charitable Trust Grant, the Suresh and Richard McMillan Scholarship for Music, and the Comenium Musicum Academy MenART Grant from Božena Viskupová and Alena Viková.