Margaret Phillips
Level: Beginner to Advanced
Cost: $90/hour
Bio: Margaret Phillips is a bassoonist and contrabassoonist based in the Boston area. She has established herself as New England’s most soughtafter contrabassoonist, and performs in all the major ensembles of the region. She has been a regular substitute and extra musician, both on bassoon and contrabassoon, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops Orchestra since 1992. As part of the touring Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Margaret has performed across the United States, toured Asia, and appeared at special events, including Super Bowl XXXVI.
Margaret is a member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Portland (Me.) Symphony Orchestra, and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been performing and recording pioneering new music with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project since its inception, and can be heard on numerous recordings under the BMOP/Sound label. Margaret has been a part of Boston’s opera scene, from Sarah Caldwell’s Opera Company of Boston, to today’s Odyssey Opera. Equally at home on the bassoon, she is a member of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, a Bostonbased chamber ensemble highly regarded for its outstanding performances and awardwinning programming. Through her teaching appointment at Berklee College of Music, Margaret has performed and made Grammynominated recordings with artists as diverse as Paul Simon, Danillo Perez, and Trey Anastasio of Phish.
As an educator, Ms. Phillips holds faculty positions at The Boston Conservatory of Music, and Berklee College of Music. She recently joined the faculty at Boston University, establishing a teaching studio in 2015.
Margaret holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Boston University, studying with L. Hugh Cooper and Matthew Ruggiero, respectively. She pursued contrabassoon studies with Gus Draal of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in Amsterdam. Margaret lives in suburban Boston.