Arriving at Winchester as a Jun Man is a daunting experience.
You are thrust into an entirely different environment – where the
school’s boundaries are marked by medieval walls and students
interact in essentially a different language.
clear that the Div experience more than anything
turned him into a Wykehamist.
Arriving at Winchester as a Jun Man is a daunting
experience. You are thrust into an entirely different
environment – where the school’s boundaries are
marked by medieval walls and students interact in
essentially a different language. That’s not a toilet
it’s a fo, etcetera. This unnerving ordeal can prove
difficult to overcome. Matthew, like me, believes
that nowhere else can possibly be weirder than
Winchester College. At 16 years old, having
to adapt to some bizarre rules (–a- becomes –ation,
but not with mathma-) was baffling, but Matthew
appreciates this ‘beautiful eccentricity’ and tells me
that it added to the ease with which he fell in love
with Winchester.
nursing home. Working with dementia patients,
he observed the extraordinary difference that
playing music would make. When discussing this
phenomenon, Matthew – clearly moved by the
memory – recalls observing how a usually still
and silent man was inspired by his music. Previously,
Matthew was told, the gentleman in question had
usually sat motionless in his chair during visits,
but after he heard performances from visiting
Wykehamists, his behaviour changed. He would
write down the names of the songs he recognised.
Matthew, inspired by this episode, has pursued
an academic interest in musicology and musical
neuroscience at Durham.
As a fantastic musician, the school naturally catered
to his musical skills and gave him the opportunity
to flourish. He was lucky to be in a year that boasted
both Charles Maxtone-Smith (B, 2010-15) and
Henry Websdale (B, 2013-15), who are now organ
scholars at Oxford and Cambridge respectively.
He has continued this excellence at Durham where
he is a Cathedral Choral Scholar, delivering eight
services per week and singing as one of the 12 men
that make up the professional singing choir.
In Hatfield College he is the Director of Music,
organising all music in College Chapel, conducting
the choir, and taking charge of evensong once a week.
Winchester nurtured Matthew’s musical prowess
and scientific interest by merging them into
something greater. Through his Wednesday
afternoon Community Service obligations,
Matthew was tasked with helping at the Sunrise
Cloister, Durham Cathedral
The Wykeham Journal 2017 23