Phillip Taylor
Conductor and Musical Director
Phillip Taylor joined the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in 1976 as a violist and continued to perform with that orchestra until 1996. He was contract Principal Violist for several years during which he was involved in many recording and solo projects. He was also a guest violist with the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras.
In 1984 he accepted the position of violist in the Victorian String Quartet, which was an Artist-in-Residency project established by the Victorian Government to foster a love of chamber music in the regional centres of Victoria.
Phillip returned to the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in 1985 where he began to develop his conducting skills. He studied with many visiting international conductors who were on tour for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. These conductors were very generous in their willingness and enthusiasm to share their knowledge and experience.
Through their encouragement and generosity the desire to conduct came to the forefront and since then, he has conducted many orchestras around Australia. Later he went on to become Senior Conductor of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and in 1987 founded the Hobart Chamber Orchestra.