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Cave, Philip

He is a choral singer, choral conductor and teacher who began his successful career in music as a chorister when he was seven years old. He attended Oxford University where he studied with Simon Preston and he also entered Christ Church Cathedral as a lay-clerk and choral scholar.

During these years he also branched out into playing the part of choral director for the Cathedral choir and the College Choir on occasion. This led him into directing several other ensembles as the years went on. At the same time was a singing member of the Clerkes of Oxenford and the Schola Cantorum and became an acclaimed soloist.

He has since performed on stage and in the studio with many ensembles that include the Cardinall’s Musick, the Choir of the English Consort, Hilliard Ensemble, The King’s Consort, the Oxford Camerata , The Sixteen and the Summertown Choral Society. Other artists and conductors he has worked all over the world with include Leonard Bernstein, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Paul McCartney and Sting.

He is a founder of the Tallis Scholars, Magnificat and Orpheus and given hundreds of concerts, toured nationally and internationally and recorded with them. Another string to his bow was holding the position of Artistic Director of the Oxford Festival of English Song.

In 2000 he decided to relocate to the United States and after living in California and Connecticut he finally settled in Washington DC where he has sung at the White House among other venues as a member of the Washington Bach Consort. He has been the Music Director of the Alexandria Choral Society, the organist and director at the Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill in Alexandria, Virginia, and now holds the position of Music Director of the All Soul’s Episcopal Church there.

In the world of musical education he is on the faculty of Grinnell College, Iowa, and works as a clinician and teacher at many North American and British masterclasses.

In recognition of his service to music he has received the Byrne Award for his Handel performances from the London Handel Society and was given the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society in 2004. He is also an Associate of the Royal College of Music, an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of St. Cecilia and a Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music and Trinity College.

Oxford Camerata recordings
Be Merry, Be Merry (15th century English)
Naxos 855075 (CD: Medieval Carols)

He sings tenor here on “Kyrie” from Stravinsky’s Mass

Sources:

  1. http://philipcave.net/bio.html
  2. http://www.philipcave.net/magnificat.html
  3. http://www.goldbergweb.com/fr/interpreters/vocals/20441.php
  4. http://www.earlymusicdc.org/who/philip_cave.htm
  5. http://www.allsoulsdc.org/article125939c1076651.htm
  6. http://alexchoralsociety.org/about.htm
  7. http://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/main/soloists.htm
  8. http://web.grinnell.edu/music/ensembles/singers/index.html
  9. http://www.singers.com/choral/oxfordcamerata.html
  10. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:16749~T3
  11. http://www.sac.or.kr/eng/bannerPage.jsp?htmlURL=/eng/lab2004/tallis/index.html