Southwark Cathedral music director Ian Keatley has died while on holiday at the age of 42. Keatley’s death was announced on Tuesday (6 August) in a statement from cathedral dean Mark Oakley who said the cathedral’s community is ‘deeply shocked’ by the news.

Keatley’s death is felt by church music communities across the UK and Ireland. Prior to his position at Southwark Cathedral, he held roles at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Westminster Abbey Choir School, the Chapels Royal at HM Tower of London, Croydon Minster and Wells Cathedral. Oakley said: ‘His passion for church music was infectious, and it was a true gift and blessing to our community.’

Church music charity Cathedral Music Trust worked with Keatley on several performance projects. In a statement released yesterday, Trust chair Jonathan Macdonald said: ‘Ian is a huge loss, not only to Southwark but also to the world of cathedral music.  He was a wonderful musician, choirmaster, organist and friend of the Trust.  Ian leaves behind a legacy that will help sustain our great choral tradition for years to come.’

Keatley’s relationship with Southwark Cathedral began in 2002 when he began his two-year tenure as organ scholar. In 2003 he founded the Merbecke Choir to provide a choir for ex-cathedral choristers to continue singing. From 2004 to 2006 he was organ scholar at Westminster Abbey before becoming director of music at Westminster Abbey Choir School, then deputy master of music at the Chapel Royal in the Tower of London.

Recalling Keatley’s approach to his role with Southwark Cathedral, Oakley said: ‘Ian was an incredibly talented musician, and he loved his work here at the Cathedral and had many friends… None of us will forget him recently conducting lots of choirs from all over the Diocese for a special diocesan Evensong, filling the nave with beauty and joy. His passion for church music was infectious, and it was a true gift and blessing to our community.’

Oakley added: ‘Ian was also a lover of life, a bon vivant, a man whose laughter filled a room, and whose hospitality was legendary. Colourful, stylish, a person of substance and reflection, he loved wine, good food, travel, and his many friends. He also took his faith seriously and understood his choral direction as a vocation, translating our faith into sound. We are all the better for him and all that he gave us. We will miss him deeply.’

In 2012 Keatley moved to Dublin, where he was organist and director of music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin until 2019 when he returned to Southwark Cathedral to take up the role of music director. Christ Church Cathedral Dublin tweeted: ‘The whole community of Christ Church Cathedral is deeply saddened by the passing of Ian Keatley, Director of Music 2012-2019. We shall miss him and his verve for life. Our thoughts are with his family, colleagues and many friends. May he rest in peace.’