Matthew Woolhouse Obituary, Matthew Woolhouse Has Passed Away
Matthew Woolhouse Obituary, Death Cause – The news of the tragic demise of Dr. Matt Woolhouse was received by the Faculty of Music with a great deal of regret and sadness. MPhil in Musicology in 2002 and PhD in Musicology in 2007. Matthew Harold Woolhouse, who was born on the 30th of May in 1965, lost his battle with prostate cancer on the 19th of May and died away in St. Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds.
He was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing. In Leeds, Matt and his wife Sarita made their home not far from the neighborhood in which Matt spent his formative years. Matt Woolhouse was a devoted husband to Sarita, a loving father to Emily and Rosalyn, and a kind brother. He was the son of the botanist Harold Woolhouse and the Australian botanist and artist Leonie Woolhouse.
Matt’s mother was a botanist. After receiving his diploma from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989, Matt toyed around with the idea of pursuing a master’s degree in composition at Cambridge for a short while before moving to Belgium to sing with the De Vlaams Opera in Antwerp. After moving back to England in 1995, he continued to sing with several of the country’s most prestigious professional ensembles, such as the Richard Hickox Singers and London Voices, among others.
He also began teaching music at Westminster Kingsway FE College, and in 1999, he was appointed the position of Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Walbrook in the City. In 2002, he made his way back to the academic world to pursue a Master of Philosophy degree in musicology through the Centre for Music and Science (CMS) in the Faculty of Music at Cambridge University.
He continued his studies there and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2007. Following that, he accepted a position as a research fellow at Wolfson College in Cambridge. In 2011, he began teaching music at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario; at the time of his passing, he held the position of Associate Professor of Music there. He was a much-loved educator who also oversaw the operation of two laboratories and led the McMaster Symphony Orchestra.
