Frederick Geoghegan

Geoghegan, Frederick

Frederick (Vladimir Lawrence) Geoghegan. Organist, teacher, b Lichfield, England, 23 Jul 1921, naturalized Canadian 1960, d Vancouver 28 Mar 1982. Piano studies were begun with his mother and continued at 14 with Wilkinson Urqhart and Tobias Matthay in London. He made his recital debut at 18. He also studied organ with Stanley Curtis and became assistant organist at St Paul's Church, Portman Square, London. Further studies with Sir William McKie at the RAM led to a teaching position there and preceded occasional recitals at Westminster Abbey and in continental Europe. He moved in 1953 to Toronto, where he held positions in various churches until 1975 and taught privately. His pupils included Giles Bryant, Douglas Haas, and Derek Holman. He toured extensively in North America, played on CBC radio ('Distinguished Artists' and 'Organists in Recital'), premiered Charles Camilleri's Battalja in 1965 and Barrie Cabena'sHomage in 1967, and gave the first US performance of Willan's Passacaglia and Fugue No. 2 in 1959. His CJRT-FM (Toronto) program 'Speaking of Organists,' syndicated in the USA, won a Major Armstrong Award for excellence in 1973. In 1975 Geoghegan joined the faculty at the University of British Columbia and became organist at St Helen's Anglican Church in Vancouver. He was well known for his prodigious technique and skill in registration.