After a concert to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's 72nd birthday, Her Majesty graciously bestows flowers upon Leo Phillips, conductor and violinist.

recent work: 2010/11 —  2009 —  2008 —  2007 —  2006 —  2005 —  2004

photo by Kamolporn Byagghateja     

In March 2011, Leo was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Galyani Vadhana Institute Orchestra, and in September this year, to mark the opening of the Galyani Vadhana Institute, he will be conducting the orchestra on tour in Thailand with a programme featuring Sibelius' 5th Symphony and Dvorak's Cello concert with Italian cello soloist Luigi Piovano.

2011 began in Sri Lanka, with Leo conducting a workshop with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka as well as giving a well-attended violin master class at the Nelung Arts Centre by invitation of The Chamber Music Society of Colombo. Leo returned to Thailand to give a baroque performance with Richard Harvey and Shalev Ad-El, the first in a series of concerts at Silverlake Winery in Pattaya. In February Leo teamed up with young Thai pianist Pornphan Baternghansa to give twelve recital performances at Bangkok's newest VIP concert facility, Hullu Studio. Following the annual Silpakorn Summer School at Hua Hin in April, Leo was again in Australasia, teaching and performing at the Conservatorium in Sydney and The University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

In early 2010 Leo returned to Japan performing another well-received recital with pianist Hiroko Takemura in Nagoya and giving masterclasses once more in both Toyotashi and Toyohashi. He was also delighted to play alongside Richard Harvey and Harpsichordist Shalev Ad-El in a baroque chamber music programme at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre in February. In August Leo again travelled to New Zealand, giving classes, workshops and seminar in Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Hawkes Bay.

Aside from Leo's 2010 conducting appearances with the Galyani Vadhana Institute Orchestra he also taught, coached and performed at the annual Silapakorn University Summer School in Hua Hin. In September Leo took up a residency in Palestine, teaching and conducting in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem, before returning to Bangkok to conduct the GVIO's highly successful November concert at SCB Plaza featuring, as soloist, young Thai guitarist Ekachai Jearakul. top

In rehearsal, 2009

In 2009 Leo made several appearances with the Galyani Vadhana Institute Orchestra, conducting works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Prokoviev and Sibelius. He also made his debut concert in Manila conducting the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of Beethoven's First Symphony, Mozart Oboe concerto and 'By the Hillside', a tone poem by Philippine National Artist Antonino Buenaventura.

On the educational front Leo returned to Australia to teach students at the Sydney Conservatarium and he also gave a violin and chamber music masterclass promoted by 'From Mozart to Madonna'. Leo subsequently travelled on to New Zealand where he gave some lessons and classes at the University of Otago, Dunedin.

He returned twice to Japan, performing and teaching again in Toyotashi and Toyohashi, and served as a juror at the ASEAN Concerto competition in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Leo continued his class at Silapakorn University. His Korean violin student, Heewon Woo, won a special jury prize at the finals of the Royal Overseas League Thailand Young Musician of the Year. top

Leo leading the orchestra for the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, October 2008, with Vladimir Ashkenasi and Gary Graffman

2008 saw Leo invited to conduct two new orchestral forces in Thailand. In December he appeared as conductor with The Galyani Vadhana Institute Orchestra at the Phayathai Palace. The programme featured four of the six Brandenburg Concerti by J.S. Bach. This rapturously received performance included, as soloists, Tasana Navagajara, Siripong Tiptan, Damrih Banawitayakit, Worapon Kanweerayothin, Lertkiat Chongjirajitra and Trisdee Na Pattalung.

Earlier in the year Leo also conducted, and performed as soloist, in the inaugural concerts of The Siam Chamber Orchestra. An all-Mozart programme featuring the Sinfonia Concertante (Leo playing solo violin along with Shanghai Conservatory professor Nian Liu playing viola), the Clarinet Concerto (with orchestra founder Richard Harvey as soloist), and Symphony No.41 'Jupiter'. The concerts, supported by the Royal Overseas League, were held at the Grand Ballroom of the Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok, and at The Globe Theatre, Regent's School, Pattaya; they were very well attended and much acclaimed. Future projects are planned for both ensembles in 2009, to take place not only in Bangkok, but also to tour around the country.

On the teaching front, Leo continued his classes at Bangkok's Silpakorn University and he was also invited to teach as a guest professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Hong Kong. Leo also returned to Australia for a week as Artist-in-Residence at The Sydney Conservatorium. He gave performance classes and private lessons, and coaching sessions for the orchestra and several chamber music ensembles.

Leo's student string quartet, 'The Dragon String Quartet' played two concerts at the Pridi Banomyong Theatre. The first consisted of quartets by Mozart, Barber and Beethoven, and the second featured Mendelssohn's first string quartet and Mozart's String Quintet in C, with Leo joining the group on viola.top

The highlight of the 2006/7 season was the formation of 'The Campus Camerata', a versatile orchestral force that aims to combine, under Leo's artistic direction, the best of students from Thai and International Schools and Universities with their professional teachers who themselves constitute the top instrumental musicians in Bangkok.

In November 2006, nineteen students from seven different Bangkok educational institutions collaborated in a well-attended and highly acclaimed performance of all four Bach violin concerti (A minor, E major, oboe/violin and two violins) directed by Leo from the violin, and featuring Bangkok's premiere oboist, Silapakorn Professor Damrih Banawitayakit, and Shrewsbury School Music Scholar Shunsuke Takemura. The concert was held at The Professor Sangvian Indaravijaya Auditorium at The Stock Exchange of Thailand, and was generously sponsored by Oleochem (Thailand) Ltd., Shrewsbury International and Bangkok Patana Schools, and produced by The Bangkok Music Society and Settrade.

The ensemble's next performance took place in March 2007 at the Khunying Sumanee Memorial Hall at Shrewsbury International School.

Twenty-two students played alongside seventeen professional instrumentalists as Leo conducted the full combined orchestra in performances of Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D ('Prague'), and Haydn's London Symphony No. 102 in B flat. The orchestra leader for the occasion was one of Bangkok's finest violinists, the Associate Dean of Silapakorn University, Ajarn Tasana Navagajara.top

As the recently appointed Artist-in-Residence at Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Leo conducted the Academy’s Orchestra in a concert performance at the Lee Foundation Theatre on October 28th.

November saw Leo's debut with The Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance that one reviewer described as: "truly astonishing....inspired by the commanding presence of a conductor who communicated the music so clearly, the players of the Thai Philharmonic managed to eschew comfortable mediocrity and bring a real excitement to a totally convincing performance."

Earlier in the year, Leo conducted the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in a gala concert at the Thai Cultural Centre's main hall. The performance, sponsored by the Thailand Securities Depository to mark their tenth anniversary, featured Singaporean Soprano Nancy Yuen singing several concert arias, and pianists Artas and Indhuoun Balakauskas playing Mozart's concerto for two pianos in E flat, K. 365. The event, graciously attended by HRH Princess Galyani, was televised by UBC television in Thailand in October.

The month of June featured the first of two 2005 concerts sponsored by
B. Grimm and featuring Leo conducting The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. This acclaimed performance of works by Sibelius, Beethoven and Haydn, was presented at the Khunying Sumanee Hall at Shrewsbury International School, by The Royal Thai Embassy, Tel Aviv, and The Embassy of Israel. The concert also featured the Israeli pianist and composer Gil Shohat in Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto.

Leo in concert, 2004

The concert at Shrewsbury was again graced by the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, who also generously found time to preside over The Bangkok Piano Trio’s debut at the Thai Cultural Centre in May. This latter concert was also a great success and 150,000 Baht was raised that evening for The Fund for the Promotion of Classical Music under The Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana.top

saw Leo making his debut conducting The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in the Nestlé 'Perfect Harmony' concert series, and in the popular Lumphini Park performances. He also conducted The Siam Philharmonic in their December Gala Concert at Thailand's National Theatre.

Additionally Leo founded The Bangkok Wind Ensemble and The Bangkok Piano Trio. Both groups had exciting and well-attended debuts in Bangkok..

December 2004 saw Leo performing once more for Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in the Ballroom of Bangkok's Dusit Thani Hotel.

Having been invited to conduct several concerts and a production of Benjamin Britten's opera 'The Turn of the Screw' Leo found himself re-locating to Bangkok in April 2003....

The Turn of the Screw

Pictures of the production

Opera East Article

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