Biography
A southern California native, Michael Phillips enjoys splitting his time between performing, recording and teaching. He has performed with numerous professional orchestras, chamber ensembles, theatrical productions, as well as pop, folk, and Christian worship groups. His studio projects include projects from a range of musical genres including classical, avant-garde, Christian worship, and rock & roll. Mr. Phillips is the founder and music curator of the Gingham Concert Series, a project which aims to provide the local community with free, family-friendly concerts with the goal of promoting the appreciation and preservation of classical music. Above all, he is most passionate about music education. Through 10 years of teaching, Michael has gained experience teaching all levels of music to students of all ages. Currently, he enjoys participating in the local music community serving as a strings coach for middle and high schools in the orange county area, teaching music camps and maintaining his own studio of private students.
Michael has studied cello performance under renowned classical musicians from the worlds of chamber, symphonic, and film music, such as cellists Laszlo Mezo, Sandy Wilson, Daniel Rothmuller and Bongshin Ko. He has earned a bachelor’s of music from San Francisco State and a master’s of music from Cal State Fullerton.