Mike Stubbs

Composer, Organist, Conductor, Educationalist

Mike Stubbs initially studied composition with John Moseley at St. Edward’s College and organ with Richard Lea and Terence Duffy at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. He then went on to study Music as Organ Scholar at The City University in London, where he studied composition with Simon Holt and organ with Catherine Ennis.

In the late nineties, he began working as a teacher at Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Bolton, for whom he has written – amongst other things – a number of small-scale musicals such as ‘The Curious Case of Le Fleur Perdue’. During his time there, the choir have performed at local events around Bolton, and occasionally at national events such as the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN) conference and World Class Schools awards ceremony in Oxford.

Over the course of his teaching career, Mike has produced several different schemes of work for teaching music in primary school. For information about the current iteration – which was rated ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED in Summer 2024 – please follow the link: https://mikestubbscomposer.com/primary-music-curriculum-scheme-of-work/.

For a good number of years, Mike has been involved with Initial Teacher Training programmes, delivering lectures and workshops in the areas of primary music education and special educational needs. He has worked with students from Cumbria University and Liverpool Hope University, as well as those involved in the school-based course at Sacred Heart.

Since 2010, Mike has sung with Hope Metropolitan Singers (formerly Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Cantata Choir), directing them, and the Hope Metropolitan Orchestra, on a number of occasions. He has also written several major works for them in that time, including such diverse compositions as ones to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the cathedral (My Beloved Spake, O Emmanuel) through to those to commemorate the First and Second World Wars (For Valour…, Doric Star). He has just completed the first draft of his setting of Robert Browning’s poem, ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ for adult and children’s choirs which is being premiered in May 2026 – see blog posts over the next few months for more news about this exciting project.

He is organist at St Paul of the Cross RC Church, Burtonwood, and has written a variety of mass and psalm settings for liturgical use over the years. He is currently developing a ‘St Paul of the Cross Little Organ Book’ of hymn tune voluntaries based on parishioners’ favourite hymns from different times in the liturgical cycle.

‘Today, Tonight And Forever’ sung by the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge (director – Sarah Mcdonald) conducted by Michael Bawtree, accompanied on the organ by Simon Hogan.
This performance was recorded at JAM’s Music Of Our Time concert on 17th March, 2016 at St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.
‘Today, Tonight And Forever’ is the third movement of the choral suite, ‘Many Rooms’, inspired by the different chapels and features of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, and premiered at a concert there on June 13th 2015.

List of Compositions

Most works listed have their own page, with details about the piece and a recording or MIDI performance to listen to. Simply click the title to be taken to the relevant page.

Click here for a chronological list of compositions

Click here for a list of compositions for use at different times during the liturgical year

Title – Forces – 1st Performance (where relevant)

For Orchestra

For Chamber Ensemble

For Choir

For Children

***with MIDI backing track

For Church

  • Mass of St Paul of the Cross (2023) – Congregation and Accompaniment
  • Islay Mass – 3 arrangements  
    • Original ICEL translation (2003) – Congregation and Accompaniment – St Paul of the Cross RC Church, Oct 2003
    • Revised ICEL translation (2012) – Congregation and Accompaniment – St Paul of the Cross RC Church, Dec 2012
    • Choral Edition (2016) – SATB and Organ – Liverpool University Singers, Feb 2017
  • Sacred Heart Acclamations (2013) – Cantor, Congregation and Accompaniment – Sacred Heart RC Church, Dec 2013
  • Hymn ‘Come, Holy Spirit, Lord Of Light’ (2012) –
    • Simple 4 part setting – St Paul of the Cross, May 2016
    • Extended setting for congregation, SATB and Accompaniment (Orchestra or Organ) – Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Concerts Society, June 2017
  • Advent/Lent Communion Antiphons (2008) – SATB/Congregation and Accompaniment – St Paul of the Cross, 2008
  • And a variety of psalm and antiphon settings for use in church (1998 – present)

For Solo Instrument

Latest Posts

  • Pied Piper – Save the update!
    Following some changes to the venue and programme for the concert, the premier performance of ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ (my setting of the Robert Browning poem) will take place at: Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 9EQ The date is still Saturday 9th May 2026 7:30 p.m. and will feature: The secondContinue reading “Pied Piper – Save the update!”
  • The Baptism of the Lord
    As we move into the first part of Ordinary Time, I have recorded the Prelude I wrote based on the hymn ‘On Jordan’s Bank’ as part of my St Paul of the Cross Little Organ Book project. It was originally intended for Advent, and so the running figure in the accompaniment (supposed to be theContinue reading “The Baptism of the Lord”
  • The Great ‘O’ Antiphons
    (‘‘Twas the week before Christmas…’) As we move into the final days of Advent, I want to share my setting of the historic Great ‘O’ Antiphons. This is a collection of seven short verses used as a prelude to the reciting of the Magnificat at Vespers in the Catholic Church since the sixth or seventhContinue reading “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons”

Upcoming Events

For more information about Hope Metropolitan Concerts (formerly Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Concerts Society), click here.

To contact Mike regarding purchasing, performing or commissioning music for any occasion, email him at:-

contact@mikestubbscomposer.com

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