Nicholas Phillips

Biography

Pianist Nicholas Phillips is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he teaches applied piano, class piano, piano ensemble, piano literature, and piano pedagogy.  He is active as a soloist and collaborative artist, having performed all across the United States.  He has also given solo recitals and performances in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa, and has given lecture-recitals and presentations at a number of international, national, and state conferences.

Described by the New York Times as an "able and persuasive advocate" of new music, and a "talented, entrepreneurial pianist," Phillips’ playing has been praised for its "bejeweled accuracy" (Fanfare) and as "razor-sharp yet wonderfully spirited" (American Records Guide).  In 2011 he released two CDs on Albany Records: Portals and Passages, featuring piano music by American composer Ethan Wickman, and Boris Papandopulo: Piano Music, featuring solo piano music by the famous 20th-century Croatian composer.  His newest CD project, American Vernacular: New Music for Solo Piano (New Focus Recordings), features commissioned works written for him by 10 American composers. New Playlist will be released on Blue Griffin records in 2016, and features 21st century character pieces by living American composers.

A native of Indiana, Phillips began formal piano lessons in the preparatory program at Indiana University at the age of ten.  He holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (Doctor of Musical Arts), Indiana University (Master of Music), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude).  His teachers include internationally renowned pianists and pedagogues Karen Taylor, Paul Barnes, Karen Shaw, and Robert Weirich. 

Nicholas Phillips is a Yamaha Artist.