composers

Joseph Phibbs

• Trio Semplice

I often find myself trying to write music in which different structures are evolving simultaneously. I’m fascinated with the whole idea of foreground and background in music, as well as the ways in which we perceive time and musical narrative, and how these elements can be moulded or distorted. In this respect I have found certain aspects of cinema and theatre intriguing as possible models. I’m not keen on the idea of musical ideologies or camps; to me the best music, whatever the style, should be full of strong, imaginative ideas that are developed in compelling ways.’
Joseph Phibbs

Joseph Phibbs (b. London 1974) studied in London and New York, and his teachers have included Param Vir, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Steven Stucky. He has been commissioned and performed by a variety of ensembles and artists including the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra (Washingon), Lontano, the Belcea Quartet (with Lisa Milne), Endymion, Chroma, and the English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble and his works have featured at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Bath and Spitalfields festivals.

Lumina, commissioned for the 2003 Last Night of the Proms, was premiered in a televised broadcast by BBC Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. It was subsequently shortlisted in two categories of the 2004 British Academy Awards, and has since received further performances across Europe, including at the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). Rainland for choir and wind orchestra (written in collaboration with Stephen Plaice) and In Camera, also written for the BBC SO and Slatkin, have been performed extensively in Europe and the US. Phibbs's largest chamber work to date, The Canticle of the Rose, was premiered at Wigmore Hall in 2005 by Lisa Milne and the Belcea Quartet.

Recent works include Tenebrae for double choir and orchestra, The Village of Birds), Personnages (for Nicholas Daniel), The Spiralling Night (commissioned by the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain), a short new work for the London Symphony Orchestra entitled Shruti, and FLEX, a joint RPS/BBC commission for the City of London Festival.

www.josephphibbs.com