Brehm Center

Dr. Fred Bock (1939-1998)

It was the air he breathed,
    the beat he marched to,
        the harmony he lived by…

Fred Bock was the consummate musician. This became evident as early as age five when he came home from school and played the songs he had learned that day in kindergarten. By age eleven, he was accompanying the hymns at his local church. He wrote his first choral anthem while in high school and created his first publishing company while an undergraduate student at Ithaca College. In graduate school at USC, he studied church music with renowned choral conductor, Dr. Charles Hirt, who remained a mentor, a confidant and an inspiration for the next four decades.

At age 24, while still in graduate school at USC, Fred Bock became Founder and Director of Publications for the music publishing division of Word, Inc. Using his business instincts and his musical talents, he formed several publishing companies, the two largest being Gentry Publications and the Fred Bock Music Company. Through the years, he also acquired the Raymond A. Hoffman Company, a 65-year-old publisher of operettas for elementary schools; the H. T. FitzSimons Company, publishers of the time-honored Hamelle edition of REQUIEM by Gabriel Faure; and Fox Music Publishing.

Apart from his business ventures, Fred used his musical abilities and leadership skills to serve the church. He spent 14 years at Bel Air Presbyterian Church, first as organist and then as Minister of Music, and another 18 years at Hollywood Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Reverend Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie.

Fred communicated through music. This was how he shared his heart with God and with other people. His wife Lois recalls a time when she observed him playing the organ with tears streaming down his face. He was pouring out his prayers to God through the music he played. Fred would always tell his choir members to choose an individual to sing to and then pray for that person. He felt that the ministry of music was integrally tied with the ministry of the Word, because music had the power to touch people in ways that words could not.

During his time at Hollywood Presbyterian, Fred worked closely with the Rev. Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie to prepare worship services a year in advance. In early summer, Dr. Ogilvie would prepare for the upcoming year by considering prayerfully what topics he should use for his sermons each Sunday. Then, he would outline those sermons, detailing what texts he would use and the main points he would make. Once finished, Dr. Ogilvie would give these to Fred, who would then choose the music that would complement the sermon topics chosen by Dr. Ogilvie throughout the year. If he could not find any music that was appropriate, he would write his own and often not take credit for it. By September, when he began rehearsing the choir, he would have all of the music chosen for the entire year.

Fred gave all of this thought and preparation to each service, because he believed that music and worship must be excellent and that God deserves only the very best. Music not done well only serves to distract people from their primary focus on God. Though normally patient and forgiving, Fred had no tolerance for choir members who missed rehearsals and still expected to sing for the worship services, and he did not understand how any choir director could expect his choir to be prepared after only rehearsing a piece of music the week before performing it for a worship service. In all that he did, Fred required excellence from himself and from all who worked under him.

The fact that Fred was so well-prepared for worship services did not stop him from being sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the need in the present moment. He and the church organist were great at finding music to fit with personal testimonies, and they would slip this music in at the last minute without anyone knowing the difference. Often, Fred would go to the piano and play background music to complement what was happening in the service. And he did not lack in spontaneous humor for all of those unexpected occurrences that happen in every church no matter how great the planning.

With his great love and respect for people, Fred won friends easily and was good at pulling together many talented people. Among his close friends and colleagues were many well-known music ministers, choir directors, musicians, composers and music publishers. All of these individuals inspired one another and held each other accountable to the excellence required in their profession and calling.

In 1976, Fred served as the editor of Hymns for the Family of God, a revolutionary collection that has sold over three million copies. He also edited the new evangelical hymnal, Worship His Majesty, published by Gaither Music Company, as well as the Yes, Lord hymnal. In addition, he co-authored the book Creating Four Part Harmony with his wife, Lois. This book of practical ideas for music ministers in local churches is now part of church music curricula in many Christian colleges and seminaries.

With over 600 compositions and arrangements in print, Fred Bock’s works continue to sell to choirs and keyboard players. His piano series, Bock’s Best, has sold in excess of 250,000 copies, and leading choral groups have sung his anthems around the world. In the fall of 1986, Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, awarded Fred with an honorary Doctor of Music degree for his contributions to the field of church music.

Fred’s musical talent extended to writing fun and humorous songs for children. At first only his own children benefited from these abilities, but when Lois approached him with a children’s play written by Betty Hager, a classmate of hers in a writing class at California State University, Northridge, Fred decided to try his hand at composing a children’s musical. This musical called Angels, Lambs, Ladybugs and Fireflies was a big success, prompting Fred and Betty to collaborate on eight other children’s musicals. With their whimsical yet lovely music and texts, these musicals brought fun and laughter to many children and their parents.

Having a broad musical taste, Fred enjoyed and excelled at playing many different musical styles. He became a keyboard-recording artist for both secular and religious markets and conducted the Candlelight Christmas Concerts at Disneyland. His work as a studio musician can be heard on dozens of films and television shows and in numerous recordings. Also involved in music industry trade organizations, he served as a member of the Writer's Advisory Board of ASCAP, and was repeatedly elected President of the Church Music Publishers Association.

In July 1998, Dr. Fred Bock died unexpectedly from complications following surgery, leaving his wife Lois and three adult children: Stephen, Jonathan and Sandy. Those who knew him personally remember him best for his keen sense of humor, his joy, his music, and his deep faith in God. The world is richer because his music lives on through his recordings, compositions and arrangements.

Stephen, Sandy, Lois, Fred, Jonathan & Kelly (daughter-in-law)