Volume 1, Number 2   February 15, 2004

VOICES Notes Online Extra: Joel Phillips

Joel Phillips was five years old when he first became interested in composing music.

Does that sound familiar? Beethoven was eight years old when he made his first public appearance as a pianist; Mozart was only three years old when he "often spent time at the clavier, picking out thirds;" the precocious Mendelssohn began writing music when he was nine years old. This is great company for a young composer who is just beginning a journey toward musical accomplishment.

All the way through his high school years, Joel Phillips maintained his interest in composing, receiving great support from his band director, who also was generous with the use of the full band as well as a smaller pep band to perform the new compositions. Phillips' musical mentor gave him many opportunities to arrange music for these groups and even asked him to rearrange the school's alma mater. This was just the kind of encouragement needed to keep this young composer's interest piqued.

And keeping interest sparked is something that is very important for a young composer. Phillips cited the New Jersey Young Composers' Festival, sponsored by the New Jersey State Teen Arts as a wonderful opportunity available to high schoolers who have been "bitten by the composing bug." Every year some 55 young composers are ecstatic to come together with others who share their common interest in composing.

Phillips also had high praise for VOICES' annual Children's Composition Contest, calling it an "absolutely fantastic" opportunity for children who have an inclination to compose and for those who may be on the verge of discovering their artistic talents and interest.

Now a resident of Lawrenceville, New Jersey where he is Professor of Music Composition and Theory at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Phillips grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He received both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama, but he chose Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (New York) for his master's degree program.

For the most part, Phillips' compositions were instrumental in nature until he came to Westminster. During the course of his 19 years there, Phillips has had many commissions to compose music - for special occasions such as anniversary celebrations for individuals, groups, and organizations like schools, churches, and synagogues, and in secular, Christian, and Hebrew settings. The Psalm 108, Ashira af k'vodi, which was part of the VOICES' Lessons and Carols concerts in December 2003, was commissioned by Frank Abrahams, who wanted this Psalm set in Hebrew. The music is keyed directly from the text, which is about God, and is built around the theme of "rise." The resultant soaring and glorious praise of this piece accomplishes what the composer set out to do when he conceived the music-to uplift and create a reverent fullness of God's presence, in the lives of both performers and audiences.

Phillips has this to say about VOICES and its director Dr. Lynne Ransom:

"It makes me very excited to be a part of this group's musical outreach. This is the way music used to be. Musicians composed music for their towns, courts, and cathedrals. Musicians lived, worked, and performed in their communities. Music in the United States has become an historic thing, rather than being a performance of the music of our time."

"Most of the music making in the U.S. happens in amateur groups like VOICES," Phillips continues. "These kinds of groups bring communities together with their music."