Frederick Chubb

Chubb, Frederick

(John) Frederick Chubb. Organist, choirmaster, teacher, composer, b Hastings, England, 16 Apr 1885, d Vancouver 6 Mar 1966; ARCO 1904, FRCO 1904, BA (Cambridge) 1909, B MUS (Oxford) 1909. After studies with A.W. Wilson at St John's Choir School, Upper St Leonards, he became Wilson's assistant at Ely Cathedral in 1903. At Cambridge U he held a senior organ scholarship 1906-10 and studied composition with Sir Charles Stanford. He became organist-choirmaster at Christ Church, Harrogate, in 1910. In 1912, following an unnecessary confinement resulting from the incorrect diagnosis of asthma as tuberculosis, he accepted a position in Canada - that of organist-choirmaster at Christ Church, Vancouver. His last position was that of organist 1946-62 at St John's Church, Victoria.

A brilliant performer in the Edwin Lemare tradition, Chubb gave 200 recitals on the Hope-Jones organ of Christ Church, introducing much symphonic music (through transcriptions) and many major organ works to Vancouver. He also gave four recitals at the 1915 San Francisco Exhibition and performed widely throughout the Pacific Northwest. He brought to Vancouver such organists as Sir Hugh Percy Allen, Marcel Dupré, Herbert A. Fricker, Alfred Hollins, Tertius Noble, and Louis Vierne. Chubb taught privately in Vancouver, his students including his son George E., who was a Montreal organist and teacher, Jean Coulthard, and Arthur Cleland Lloyd. Chubb made the Christ Church Cathedral choir one of the finest in western Canada. He participated in diocesan activities, founding Purcell Hall (1935-41), a large store rented and converted for use as a school and auditorium for church music. Although some of Chubb's church music has been published (Waterloo, Novello), his major works, including Rhapsody (early 1940s) for piano and orchestra and an Organ Sonata (1938-9), described as 'heavily romantic' by George Chubb, remain in manuscript.