Hidden Gem: Just getting started

It’s been said that musicians are, by nature, transient.   Many of us tend to move around a lot, shifting from job to job and changing our lives as our careers command us to adapt.  A few, however, put down roots and find themselves a home.  This week, All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills is celebrating one such commitment, with a “festive concert” in honor of composer/organist/director Craig Phillips’ 25th anniversary at the parish.

The prolific and respected composer is widely published and often performed (see his website for lists of available works), and has worn several hats over his years at All Saints’, ultimately taking the helm as Director of Music just a few years ago.  Beloved by the congregation and by the church’s busy choirs, he is a fixture in the local musical landscape and in the national church music community, as much for his own work as for the successful continuation of a long-lauded music program, notably one of the best in the country.  Phillips has been the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including the Distinguished Composer Award from the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in 2012, and award offered only every two years and boasting an impressive list of past honorees that includes the likes of Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Daniel Pinkham, Samuel Adler and Stephen Paulus.  This is just one honor in an already bedecked career, but don’t let the quarter-century milestone fool you: Craig started at All Saints’ at a tender age, so he’ll be musicmaking for many years to come.

The Friday evening concert will feature All Saints’ Choir, The Modern Brass Quintet with Parish Choir and special guests, Thomas Foster and Dale Adelmann, both Former All Saints’ Directors of Music.  Admission is free, but donations are accepted to help defray the cost of the festivities.  Don’t miss it.