The double bassist died ‘in unexpected circumstances’ while travelling to the island of Jersey
The death has been announced of Mat Heighway, a double bassist and bass guitarist who performed throughout the UK and on the island of Jersey. The 46-year-old died unexpectedly while he was travelling to perform at a concert on Jersey on Thursday, 10 October 2024, according to the Balliwick Express.
Heighway was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and freelanced extensively in the UK. He was a member of the Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Jersey Chamber Orchestra.
Other ensembles he performed with included the English Symphony Orchestra, English String Orchestra, British Philharmonic Concert Orhestra, Orchestra of the Swan, among others.
As a theatre musician, he performed in nearly 40 productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company since 2004, as well as UK tours of numerous productions, including Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast and The King and I.
Heighway also performed with the band Pig Earth and the klezmer quartet Klezmer Kollektiv. He was a member of the folk band The Time Stealers, which posted the following on its Facebook page:
’Mat was an extraordinarily talented musician who added so much to our sound in The Time Stealers. He had great personality and wild sense of humour, on and off stage…We will never be the same without you Mat.’
Heighway also sang and played keyboards and percussion. In addition to his musical profession, he worked as a TV and film extra.
The Jersey-based music charity Music in Action, through which Heighway had given educational concerts to over 6,000 Jersey children and performed in local care homes, dedicated its concert on Saturday 12 October to Heighway’s memory.
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