Biography
“Virtuosic playing and a perfect sense of timing,” raves Guitar Extra of ROBERT PHILLIPS debut recording, Guitarre Nouveau. Will Crutchfield in the New York Times noted his “aptitude for putting across character.” Since making his debut to a sold-out Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Robert has brought his brilliant interpretations to a diverse range of venues – from traditional concert halls including New York’s prestigious Town Hall, and Lincoln Center to jazz nightclubs. He has appeared as a guest soloist with the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Festival Orchestra, and the West Islip Chamber Orchestra.
Robert has been a guest on numerous radio stations, performing live on NPR member stations including WNYC (New York City), WAMC (Albany), WMHT (Troy, NY), as well as WDST (Woodstock), WMNF (Tampa). His recordings have been featured on both classical radio stations and jazz radio stations, including WQCD (New York City), and have been regularly featured on nationally syndicated shows including “Guitar Alive” and “New Sounds”.
Robert Phillips holds a doctorate in music from the University of Miami. A recipient of a Japan Fulbright, Dr. Phillips is respected internationally as a scholar, and educator, as well as a performer. A former student of Rey de la Torre, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and David Starobin, he has embraced a wide range of repertory preferences. In addition to the standard classical guitar canon, his repertoire includes works by Luciano Berio, Philip Glass, Alan Hovhaness, Eberhard Weber, Miguel Llobet, and Thelonius Monk. He also performs his own compositions, and has premiered works by three-time Pulitzer nominee, Frank Brazinski, Eric Ross, Alfred Giusto, and Meyer Kupferman, as well as a concerto written for him by three-time Grammy winner, Michael Colina. Dr. Phillips also performs in central Florida with a jazz combo.
Robert has contributed a number of articles to “Soundboard”, the journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, and to "American String Teacher", the journal of the American String Teachers' Association. He spent three years as the classical guitar columnist for “Guitar for the Practicing Musician”, and its sister publication, “Guitar Extra” before becoming a contributing writer for “Guitar Player”. Many of his transcriptions and editions of works for classical guitar have been published in these magazines and by Cherry Lane Music Co., Inc. His antholog
