Philip J. Anderson MusB (Hons), MA
I spent my childhood in Buckinghamshire and started my musical education aged 4, having piano lessons from a local teacher. When I was 8, I was handed a cornet on the recommendation of a family friend and was soon blowing tunes and had joined the town brass band. When I started secondary school I changed brass teacher to the visiting peripatetic and was invited to join the Amersham Music Centre. Here I joined the brass ensemble, orchestra, jazz band and wind band. I pursued grades on trumpet and piano and by the time I left school I had achieved grade 8 in trumpet and cornet and had reached the principal seat of every group in which I was a member.
After finishing my A levels, I changed instruments to euphonium and trombone and it very quickly became apparent that the change was for the good, gaining grade 8 on the euphonium with distinction after only two months. I went to Manchester University to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree and while there helped to co-found the Manchester University Wind Orchestra (MUWO) which soon started winning prizes in national competitions. Whilst there, I had lessons at the Royal Northern College of Music with Nicholas Childs and others.
From Manchester, I went on to Bristol University to study a Master of Arts in Advanced Musical Studies, focusing on composition with Professor Adrian Beaumont. I took an active part in the Bristol University Wind Orchestra and also joined Filton Concert Band. After my studies, I settled in Dursley, Gloucestershire with my wife, and joined a local brass band, Sharpness and District Silver Band; I soon found myself out front with a baton, a post I held for 10 years. Whilst conducting them I joined Cinderford Band, then a championship level band, and played with them in many concerts and contests on different instruments, including tenor horn, euphonium and baritone. The highlight of my time with Cinderford Band was their trip to the National Brass Band Championship finals in 2005 (then playing 1st Baritone).
In 2009 I joined the City of Bristol Brass Band on baritone. I became an established player in the band and moved up the row to the seat I currently hold, Principal Euphonium. City of Bristol regularly compete in a wide variety of contests including the National Brass Band Championships Finals of Great Britain, which resulted in the band being promoted to the First Section.
I have also helped out with many bands around the area on trombone, baritone and euphonium and have many students in ensembles throughout the county, including the Gloucestershire Youth Brass Band, the top youth brass band in the county.
I started teaching when I was 18; after moving to Dursley in 2001 I established myself as a private music teacher, specialising in brass but also teaching piano and theory. In 2006 I was able to take my teaching full time in schools around Gloucestershire after joining Gloucestershire Music, the County Council Music Service. Since then I have started working at several independent and state schools in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire on both employed and private contracts.
Although I do not make it compulsory to do grade examinations I aim to make the lessons challenging as well as fun, and I encourage students to take either ABRSM or Trinity exams; over the last 10 years I have seen students successfully through over 200 exams.
After finishing my A levels, I changed instruments to euphonium and trombone and it very quickly became apparent that the change was for the good, gaining grade 8 on the euphonium with distinction after only two months. I went to Manchester University to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree and while there helped to co-found the Manchester University Wind Orchestra (MUWO) which soon started winning prizes in national competitions. Whilst there, I had lessons at the Royal Northern College of Music with Nicholas Childs and others.
From Manchester, I went on to Bristol University to study a Master of Arts in Advanced Musical Studies, focusing on composition with Professor Adrian Beaumont. I took an active part in the Bristol University Wind Orchestra and also joined Filton Concert Band. After my studies, I settled in Dursley, Gloucestershire with my wife, and joined a local brass band, Sharpness and District Silver Band; I soon found myself out front with a baton, a post I held for 10 years. Whilst conducting them I joined Cinderford Band, then a championship level band, and played with them in many concerts and contests on different instruments, including tenor horn, euphonium and baritone. The highlight of my time with Cinderford Band was their trip to the National Brass Band Championship finals in 2005 (then playing 1st Baritone).
In 2009 I joined the City of Bristol Brass Band on baritone. I became an established player in the band and moved up the row to the seat I currently hold, Principal Euphonium. City of Bristol regularly compete in a wide variety of contests including the National Brass Band Championships Finals of Great Britain, which resulted in the band being promoted to the First Section.
I have also helped out with many bands around the area on trombone, baritone and euphonium and have many students in ensembles throughout the county, including the Gloucestershire Youth Brass Band, the top youth brass band in the county.
I started teaching when I was 18; after moving to Dursley in 2001 I established myself as a private music teacher, specialising in brass but also teaching piano and theory. In 2006 I was able to take my teaching full time in schools around Gloucestershire after joining Gloucestershire Music, the County Council Music Service. Since then I have started working at several independent and state schools in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire on both employed and private contracts.
Although I do not make it compulsory to do grade examinations I aim to make the lessons challenging as well as fun, and I encourage students to take either ABRSM or Trinity exams; over the last 10 years I have seen students successfully through over 200 exams.