John Stockdale grew up in a musical family with professional private music instruction. He was inspired by his grandfather, Patrick J. Leonard, the founder of Leonard School of Music a teacher and band director. John’s uncle, Dan Leonard is a musician, sight-reading clinician, teacher and band director as well as his mother and father which were band directors and trumpeters.
John learned trumpet first, classical guitar, then piano, voice and then other instruments. He performed throughout the school with his parents in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina, a Civil War reenactment group, a local Highland British Brass band and church where he grew up singing.
In high school, John was very active in music practicing and performing trumpet in Symphonic, Marching and Jazz band. He took Choir and Music Theory where he learned SATB form and how to transpose and arrange for every instrument including percussion. All through high school he composed music with his Rock bands and studied electric guitar privately from a local guitarist and songwriter named Frank Hardwick.
At age 17 he composed and directed his first original musical composition for his high school Symphonic band. Later, John attended Leonard School of Music in Denton, Texas under the direction of his uncle, Dan Leonard for further musical training when the Leonard School finally broke over a thousand enrolled students.
In 1993, John graduated from Atlanta Institute of Music as a Guitar Major. While in school he studied privately with many music professors. Among these fine musicians were Sid Woolfolk ( performed with Louis Armstrong ), Carl Culpepper guitar transcriptionist and former writer for Guitar Player Magazine ), Shane Theriot ( performing guitarist for Hall and Oates). Stockdale also received private instruction with the University of North Texas head of guitar department, Jack Peterson ( helped design the first guitar curriculum at Berklee School of Music ).
After graduating from Atlanta Institute of Music, John performed with as many different styles of groups he could. During this time he performed with many groups and built up over 60 private students a week. This experience led him to an audition to be the guitarist for a rhythmically complex bilingual horn group named, Mandorico. John decided to take a break from teaching to gain more experience as a touring guitarist.
The group’s live performances were mainly on the east coast and they were constantly composing, arranging, and performing. He recorded on their third album writing all guitar parts.
Mandorico shared the stage with various national and international acts including the late Tito Puente, The Wailers, Celia Cruz, Smash Mouth, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Jump Little Children, The Skatalites, Rehab, UB40, Foo Fighters, Toots and the Maytals, Antigone Rising, Moe and many others.
When Mandorico decided to move from Atlanta, Ga. to be based out of California, cover more territory and expand their fanbase through live performances, Stockdale got a job offer to teach at Leonard School of Music and seized the opportunity to move. Building a student base, he would also perform solo performances in the surrounding cities and city of Charleston, South Carolina. The John Stockdale Band now performs original and cover material in the Lowcountry.
Other than performing, teaching, putting on recitals and concerts with his students, he composes, records and does micro-video instructional lessons. He is steadily on the call with his solo/duet/trio or quartet self-titled band for private functions, weddings and venues. John Stockdale also performs regularly as guitarist solo, duet and up to sextet Charleston, S.C. and surrounding cities.
John Stockdale’s favorite musical genres to teach are Classical, Acoustic Guitar with altered tuning and Jazz but mostly Progressive Rock/Metal.
Choose private instruction with John Stockdale or audition for one of his electric, acoustic or classical guitar Guitar Ensembles!
He teaches any tuning or number of strings for Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar Classical guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Ukulele, Banjo and exotic/world stringed instruments, piano and voice as well.
His students have recitals, concerts, fundraisers and gigs throughout the year. He has his students sit in with him at his gigs from time to time. Stockdale has 3 summer guitar camps available that are full of knowledge.
Sign up today!
John Stockdale (843) 801-1475
