Hugh Mather studied the piano and organ from an early age, gaining the FRCO
and the ARCM piano performers diplomas, and continued his piano studies with
James Gibb for many years.
He pursued a medical career and was Consultant
Physician at Ealing Hospital from 1982 to 2006, specialising in diabetes,
before retiring to pursue his musical interests. He has given countless
concerts at St Mary’s Perivale, St Barnabas Church, Ealing Hospital and elsewhere,
as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. He has performed concerti by
Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Gershwin, Grieg and
Schumann, with various orchestras including the Ealing Symphony Orchestra, West
London Sinfonia, Richmond Orchestra, Kew Sinfonia, Trinity Orchestra
(Harrow), Stroud Orchestra and Colchester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Whilst at Ealing Hospital, he organised weekly lunchtime concerts there
for over 20 years, to give valuable performing experience to
musicians. He has developed this work enormously since his retirement. He
is Chairman of the Friends of St Mary’s Perivale, and has organised almost
two hundred concerts there over the past four years, involving over a hundred pianists, fifty
violinists, fifty cellists etc. St Mary’s Perivale is now recognised as
the premier centre for chamber music in West London, and attracts many of
the best young professional musicians in London.
Two years ago, Hugh established a parallel series of weekly Friday lunchtime
concerts at St Barnabas, based on the superb Bösendorfer grand piano,
and these have also proved very successful. Altogether he has arranged well over
a hundred concerts in Ealing in the past year.
Full details of concerts are available on www.st-marys-perivale.org.uk or on
www.barnabites.org/concerts.asp .
June 2009