GARY PHILO grew up playing trombone in school orchestras and bands, guitar in folk and rock bands, and later, bass and trombone in jazz bands. His works have been performed by many individuals and groups, including the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Collage, Oren Fader, Dan Lippel, Mary Rowell, Geoffrey Burleson, Loadbang, the Guidonian Hand, James Bergin, Emily Kalish, Transient Canvas, The Silesian Philharmonic, James Dunham, Nicholas Underhill, and others. He is a recipient of a Charles Ives Scholarship awarded by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, has been commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts, and has received grants from Meet-the-Composer and CAP. He has also received fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Composers Conference at Wellesley. Mr. Philo is a board member of the League of Composers/ISCM, a member of the American Composers Alliance, APNM, and BMI, and was a founding member of Composers in Red Sneakers, a Boston-based composers cooperative that produced concerts of their works and the works of other composers. He holds degrees from Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Columbia University, and his principal teachers were William Thomas McKinley, Mario Davidovsky, Chou Wen-chung, and Jack Beeson.
Current projects
Prelude and Caprice for Mandolin and Piano 2024
Written for the Anderson Forsyth Duo:
William Anderson, guitar/mandolin, Joan Forsyth, piano
Nobilis humilis magne martir, for orchestra (2023)
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Percussion, Strings
The St Magnus Hymn, or “Nobilis humilis,” is a hymn which celebrates St Magnus of Orkney, and can be dated to at least the thirteenth century, and may be from the twelfth century. I’ve used the hymn as a theme that becomes varied, with interludes interspersed between the variations. Listen to a demo version here.
Etudes for Violin and Piano (ongoing)