BORN to be a musician, Matthew Hines arrived on Christmas Day to the sound of jingle bells and just days later joined the rest of the family to listen to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on the radio.

Not that he remembers the occasion, but Matthew, 18, the first winner of the Hereford Police Male Choir 50th anniversary bursary of £750, declares it was an event which defined his musical destiny.

When he was five years old, he was playing the violin. By seven, he was learning to master the piano, something he has achieved with great success, as a packed audience at the recent anniversary contest can confirm.

Matthew is full of praise for various teachers over the years, the Hereford Big Band, with whom he cut his jazz teeth, and particularly Richard Taylor, former head of music at Aylestone School and Matthew's mentor for many years.

Thanks to his guidance, Matthew won a place at the renowned Chethams School of Music in Manchester, from which he has gained a place at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study jazz, composition and modern electronic music.

But he does not see his future as a band frontman: "I prefer to write and produce music in the studio, ideally for film scores and the visual arts," says Matthew, equally at home on a grand piano or a keyboard, playing classic, pop or jazz.

He plans to invest his bursary money in portable recording equipment so he can build up his own music library.

As he says: "Everyone has to start somewhere."