He is a violinist born in Canton, Ohio who started learning the violin when he was 4 years old with his teacher being William Taylor is the father of the CSO concertmaster David Taylor. He went on to study chamber music and violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music and took further studies with the violinist Donald Weilerstein.
He was a member of Music of the Baroque, performed in the Music in the Home series and was a member of the Indianapolis Symphony and String Quartet for 4 years.
After Indianapolis he became a member of the Detroit Symphony where he remained for the next 8 years until he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1980. His last tour was when he performed at the Naples concert in February 2020 before his retirement from the orchestra after 40 years. In recognition for his “outstanding service to the symphony” he was awarded the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service.
Recordings he has played on include Brahms: Violin Concerto/Somata No. 3, Wagner: Overtures and Preludes and Corigliano: Symphony No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Sources:
- https://cso.org/about/performers/chicago-symphony-orchestra/violins/paul-phillips/
- http://www.chicagosymphonymusicians.com/paul-phillips-jr.html
- https://theviolinchannel.com/chicago-symphony-orchestra-violinist-paul-phillips-jr-announces-retirement/
- https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoSymphony/photos/a.10157203529033049/10157203530888049
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/1049477-Paul-Phillips-4?anv=Paul+Phillips%2C+Jr.&filter_anv=1