Craig Phillips
Two-time Grammy-nominee, Dr. Craig Phillips is a founding member of the acclaimed male classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony and an established operatic and concert soloist. Possessing a "handsome, elegant bass" (New York Times), he has distinguished himself as a gifted singing actor, performing a wide range of repertoire with companies including Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. As a concert soloist, his credits include performances with Eastern Music Festival, New York Collegium, Miami Bach Society, and Washington National Cathedral. Recent solo engagements include Haydn’s Creation with Orchestra of St. Luke’s under the baton of David Hyde, and Die Zauberflöte with Clarion Music Society.
Specializing in early and new music, New York Polyphony is recognized as one of the finest vocal chamber ensembles active today. Praised for a “rich, natural sound that’s larger and more complex than the sum of its parts,” (National Public Radio) the ensemble’s growing discography includes two Grammy-nominated releases and albums that have topped the “best of” lists of The New Yorker, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and The New York Times.
New York Polyphony maintains an active touring schedule, participating in major concert series and festivals around the world. Noteworthy engagements include debut performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, residencies at Dartmouth College and Stanford University, and concerts under the aegis of the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht (Netherlands). Elsewhere, New York Polyphony has performed as part of the Tage Alter Musik Regensburg; Rheingau Musik Festival, Thüringer Bachwochen (Germany); Abvlensis International Music Festival (Spain); Stiftskonzerte Oberösterreich (Austria); Festival de Música de Morelia (Mexico); and the Elora Festival (Canada). The ensemble has been featured on Performance Today for American Public Media, Footprints to Paradise: A Medieval Christmas for Public Radio International, and BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. In December 2011, New York Polyphony made its national television debut on The Martha Stewart Show.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Oregon, Dr. Phillips served on the faculties of High Point University, Amherst Early Music Festival and Madison Early Music Festival.
- DMA 2017, Vocal Performance, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- MM 1998, Vocal Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
- BM 1993, Vocal Performance, Appalachian State University
HONORS
- 2020, Finalist - Gramophone Award in Early Music for Lamentationes
- 2014, 57th GRAMMY® nomination – Best Chamber Music/ Small Ensemble performance for Sing thee Nowell
- 2013, 56th GRAMMY® nomination – Best Chamber Music/ Small Ensemble performance for Times go by Turns
- 2013, Best of Classical 2013 – iTunes/ Apple Media for Times go by Turns
- 2012, Top 10 Notable Classical Music Recordings of 2012 – New Yorker Magazine for endBeginning
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
- And the sun darkened - New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2021)
- Lamentationes – New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2019)
- Missa Charles Darwin - New York Polyphony (Navona Records, 2017)
- Roma Æterna - New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2016)
- Moonstrung Air: The Compositions of Gregory W. Brown (Navona Records, 2015)
- Sing thee Nowell - New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2014)
- Times go by Turns - New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2013)
- endBeginning - New York Polyphony (BIS Records, 2012)
- Tudor City - New York Polyphony (Avie Records, 2010)
- I sing the birth - New York Polyphony (Avie Records, 2007)