The loved ones of talented musician Dominic Hopkins paid a heartfelt tribute during a two-day inquest into his death.
Mr Hopkins, of Norwich, drowned at the Sportspark swimming pool at the University of East Anglia on January 27, 2022.
At an inquest held earlier this month, area coroner Yvonne Blake concluded that the violinist died because of “multiple organ failure, secondary to drowning precipitated by an epileptic fit while drowning”.
A moving statement about the 57-year-old's life was read out in full at Norfolk Coroner’s Court.
It said: “Dominic was a unique and wonderful person, a gifted musician who was well respected, and a mainstay of Norwich’s classical music scene.
“He was also extremely bright and creative with a first-class degree and MSc in mathematics with a passion for space and physics.
“He was a natural teacher and worked over the years in various careers; college physics lecturer, violin teacher, violinist, geophysical aerial surveyor in Africa, New Zealand and Germany, and an offshore surveyor in the North and Black Seas.
“Dominic was a single man who never had children but who dearly loved the children of his family and close friends.
“He was gentle-natured and kind and much-loved by everyone who knew him. He was also well known for throwing exceptional parties.
“In the period leading up to his death, Dominic was busy socially and with orchestral engagements and was in a period of relative wellness, despite his heath conditions of Marfan syndrome and epilepsy.
“As a talented classical violinist, he was also the leader of the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra between 2008 and 2016.
“He was a regular attendee of music camp.
“Dominic lived with complex health challenges which he always bore with grace and dignity.
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“Dominic was always deeply grateful for the medical care he received and would regularly extol the virtues of the wonderful NHS, his consultants and the nursing staff who looked after him so well.
“Dominic lived his life to the full, always seizing every opportunity that came his way and always enhancing the lives of those around him with his warmth, friendship and humour, his bright inquisitive mind and vivid imagination, his patience and willingness to help others, and his innate generosity of spirit.”
- To pay tribute to a loved one, email norfolkobituaries@newsquest.co.uk
- To read all obituaries and tributes join the Facebook group Norfolk's Loved & Lost.
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