NYSB Profile 31

Profile 31

Bandmaster Richard Phillips (Kettering) was the guest for the annual Profile Night, held at the Centennial Memorial Temple. The event featured the New York Staff Band, the Greater New York Youth Chorus and a massed chorus of some 200 voices. Richard played the first movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto, accompanied by the NYSB. Other band contributions included "New York Profile" (composed for the festival ), "Lord, With My All I Part" and "Metamorphosis."

The Massed Chorus sang "Let a Little Sunshine In Your Heart," "Fairest Lord Jesus", for which Richard has written an original melody entitled "Churchbury", and "Holy, Thou Art Holy."

A very lively youth chorus sang two songs that Richard had written for the UK National School of Music, "Sing For Joy", and "Dwell Within", which has words written by Colin Fairclough.

Gillian Morton (who had been an International Staff Songster when Richard was accompanist) sang "The Wonder of God" and the final item of the evening was the cornet solo "All There Is Of Me", played by Staff Bandsman Derek Lance, who had arrived late due to another engagement with the West Point Band which had run late.

A wonderful evening of music making which did not disappoint any of the nearly capacity congregation in attendance.

- Colonel Norman Bearcroft

About Richards Phillips Dip RCM, ARCM, PGCE

Richard was born into a Salvationist family and has always had a flair for music. In 1984, after his formal training as a pianist and trumpeter at the Royal College of Music, Richard was employed by The Salvation Army in the Music Editorial Department. In 1994 he was promoted to the department’s head where he was responsible for all of the Army’s music publications in the UK. Since 2004 Richard has been a music teacher. Firstly, he was the head of Music at Peterborough Regional College but now is the head of music performance at the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough, one of the countries largest academies.

Richard has toured the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand as a pianist and conductor and was for 13 years the accompanist for the International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army. He has a large number of compositions and arrangements published by The Salvation Army and various other publishing houses and has been the conductor of Chatham Citadel Band and Enfield Citadel Band where the second of his recordings with the band was voted CD of the Year in 2000 by Brass Band World magazine. He has recorded 4 solo piano CD’s so far with another due later this year. Richard soldiers at the Kettering Citadel Corps where he is the bandmaster.

Richard is married to Lyn, and they have two cats.