Organ - Staff

Philip Swanton

DSCM, Diplom fur alte Musik (Basel)
Philip Swanton trained under David Rumsey at Sydney Conservatorium of Music before pursuing postgraduate studies in historical keyboard instruments in Basel, Switzerland with Jean-Claude Zehnder at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

He has enjoyed an immensely successful career as a performer, recording artist and teacher in both hemispheres. Numerous concert appearances at major festivals and venues have taken him throughout Europe, across Australia and as far afield as Mexico. He has produced solo recordings for a number of leading European radio networks and recording labels (Motette, Pelca, Koch-Schwann), presented masterclasses and workshops for music institutions and summer academies throughout Europe, edited keyboard music for the publishing house, Carus, of Stuttgart and published articles in a number of journals.

Philip returned to Australia in 1992 after living and working in Europe for 16 years. In addition to lecturing at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he is on the music staff of Sydney Grammar School, is Senior Teacher in Organ at the ACT Organ School (Canberra) and is in frequent demand as an organ recitalist around Australia.

His other great musical passion is the fortepiano. In a series of nine recitals between 1998 and 2000, he became the first Australian ever to publicly perform the complete keyboard sonatas of Joseph Haydn on harpsichord and fortepiano. On his most recent CD,“Just for Pleasure” (Walsingham Classics), Philip directs the period-instrument ensemble Camerata Classica in a world-première recording of Six Fortepiano Trios (Op.13) by the 18th century German composer, Johann August Just.