Phillip Cooke

After nearly three years of planning and nefarious correspondence I finally got the green light for the Howells Studies book which I shall be co-editing and contributing to. The book will be co-edited with my Oxford colleague Dr David Maw and will feature chapters by many of the leading Howells and British Music specialists. The book will be published by Boydell and Brewer, hopefully early next year. We are eternally grateful to the Howells Trust for making this publication a possiblity. More in due course.

Here is a brief video of me talking about Invocation from the JAM tour of Scotland last month. Enjoy how much I move my head.

This week should prove to be an exciting week, beginning with the première of Lakesongs in Ambleside on Tuesday as part of the Lake District Summer Music Fesitval 2011 (with my no doubt enlightening talk beforehand). The Warehouse ensemble will première Nocturne as part of the Tête-a-Tête Opera Festival on Thursday (followed by a second performance on Friday) in the ‘Six Word Opera’ performances. On Friday I’m going to the first rehearsal of Dreams of Longing followed by taking in a performance of London Road (sadly not written by me) at the National Theatre. I also finished my ‘dramatic cantata’ The Two Trees for performance in October and heard that the choir of Selwyn College Cambridge will première my Evening Service in Cambridge in October. Hopefully Everton will win on Saturday to round it off nicely.

I have just been appointed the new Composition Tutor at the historic Eton College, beginning the post in January taking over from James Weeks. Alongside tutoring the students and taking composition classes, I will also be involved with the annual composition competitions the college run.

Phillip will give an open lecture on his music entitled: Hiding Hymns (and Plainchant, Bach and Mozart): Some of my recent Chamber Music. The lecture will take place at the Faculty of Music at 15:00 on Tuesday 10 February as part of the Faculty’s New Music Forum. The Isis Ensemble will perform the work Two Elegies (2006) as part of the lecture.

Phillip will give a paper entitled: A Wholly New Chapter in Service: Sensuality and Mysticism in the Evening Canticle Settings of Herbert Howells at the Music Faculty in Oxford on Tuesday 11 November at 17:15. He hopes to have the paper published as an article shortly after.

Chroma will give the world premiere of Phillip’s Nineteen Years of Winter at Cardiff University on Tuesday 18 March at 19:30. The programme will also include works by Janacek, Penderecki, Burrell, Novak, Musgrave and John Woolrich. Phillip will be in conversation with Anthony Powers at 18:30 (free to ticket holders).

Phillip has been appointed as a Junior Research Fellow in composition at the Queen’s College Oxford and a Career Development Fellow in the Faculty of Music. He will begin the posts immediately.

Phillip has passed his Ph.D. at the University of Cardiff. His external examiner was William Mival from the RCM.

The next LCMG concert will be: St Giles Cripplegate, London, 05/07/07, 19:30. A concert of modern British music for quintet, including works by Hesketh, Ades, Powers, Hull and David Matthews. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Phillip’s Four Bagatelles for clarinet and piano. Phillip will be interviewing both Powers and Hesketh during the concert.