FREDERICK STOCKEN

Further information about Dr Frederick Stocken as organist, musicologist, and teacher.

ORGANIST

Organist of St George's Metropolitan Cathedral,
Southwark, London

Frederick has been Organist of St George’s Metropolitan Cathedral in Southwark since 2014 where he plays for a range of Roman Catholic liturgies and accompanies the cathedral choirs, which are directed by Jonathan Schranz. He is a convert to Catholicism, and this has been influential on his work as a composer.
A prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, Frederick gives occasional organ recitals as his composing allows, including some in prestigious venues and recital series, from King’s College Cambridge to St John’s Smith Square. He has recorded two CDs with St George’s choir on the Priory and Regent labels and played the organ for various broadcasts from St George's on BBC television and radio.

MUSICOLOGIST

A book about nineteenth-century harmony

and research on Schubert

Frederick made a deep study of one of the most comprehensive descriptions of traditional western harmony ever written, the fundamental-bass theory by Simon Sechter, who was also the teacher of Anton Bruckner. The resulting PhD thesis became a book, published by Edwin Mellen Press, called Simon Sechter’s Fundamental Bass Theory and its influence on the Music of Anton Bruckner. As part of this research Frederick found the memoirs of the composer Josef Lanz, describing his close friendship with Franz Schubert. This memoir was published in Music & Letters (Vol. 88, no. 2) co-authored with Rita Steblin.

"Stocken's study... makes a vital contribution to both Bruckner and Sechter studies, and, as such, should become an important text for scholars in both fields." Prof. Julian Horton reviewing Simon Secher's Fundamental Bass Theory and its influence on the Music of Anton Bruckner in The Bruckner Journal.

TEACHER

The Royal College of Organists and the Royal Academy of Music

Alongside composition, Frederick has been a freelance teacher of music theory and organ throughout his career. Frederick teaches organ and theory of music for the Royal College of Organists and is an examiner for the RCO. In 2020 he taught the RCO’s

first-ever webinars. He teaches organ at Junior Academy and supporting studies to organists at the Royal Academy of Music. Frederick's writing for tutors grew out of his teaching. He examined for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and was a trainer of examiners for a decade.

"Occasionally something simple is invented which makes it difficult to imagine a world without - for example a paper clip or the 'post-it' sticker. In its own way, Scale Shapes may prove to be such an invention." Margaret Hubicki reviewing Scale Shapes in Journal of the Music Masters' and Mistresses' Association.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

MA (Cantab), PhD, FRCO

Frederick was a chorister at Southwell Minster under Kenneth Beard, and it was at this time that he started composing. His sixth form was at Chetham’s School of Music, where he became Head Boy. He was Organ Scholar of St Catharine’s College Cambridge where he studied with Peter Hurford and Peter le Huray. He won five prizes at ARCO and three at FRCO. His PhD is from the University of Manchester, where his Director of Studies was Crawford Howie. Howard Ferguson and Margaret Hubicki were life-changing mentors for his composition during the early years of his career.