Darwin Ensemble

Conductor

Philip Scriven studied at the Royal Academy of Music, and held organ scholarships at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and St. John’s College, Cambridge.

Philip continued his studies in organ and conducting at the Vienna Musikhochschule and the Juilliard School in New York, where he gained his Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting.  He was Assistant Conductor of the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, and concert invitations included playing the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony in Carnegie Hall.  On returning to the UK, Philip worked as a repetiteur for English National Opera and Welsh National Opera, conducted for the Cambridge University Opera Society and Pimlico Opera, and was Assistant Conductor for Barroco na Bahia (Brazil) and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

Philip frequently travels around Europe and the UK giving recitals and masterclasses, as well as to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, and in 1995 he was the Royal College of Organists “Performer of the Year”.  He particularly enjoys performing French music of the 19th and 20th centuries, and has a keen interest in transcriptions from the operatic and symphonic repertoire; his own transcriptions include works by Brahms, Warlock and Bernstein.  In 2000, he performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in Winchester Cathedral over a 24-hour period, to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Philip was Acting Sub-Organist of Westminster Abbey and Sub-Organist at Winchester Cathedral before moving to Lichfield Cathedral, where he was Organist and Master of the Choristers for 8 years.  As well as appearing on many recordings with the choirs of St. John’s College, Cambridge and Winchester Cathedral, he has recorded three CDs with the Lichfield Cathedral Choir and five solo CDs. He has worked with the London Bach Choir and the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, and is frequently invited to give choral workshops in the USA.  He has been an examiner for the Birmingham Conservatoire, and regularly plays continuo with ensembles such as Florilegium, Ex Cathedra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

In September 2010, Philip moves to Cranleigh School as its first “Organist in Residence”, where he will preside over a brand new Mander organ, and is looking forward to developing his freelance career in the London area.  His non-musical hobbies include tennis, astronomy, country walking, nature programmes, cooking Indian food, and playing with his two young daughters, Hannah and Leah.