Phillip Wilcher

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Phillip Leslie Wilcher (born 16 March 1958) is an Australian pianist and classical music composer who was a founding member of the children's music group The Wiggles.

"Daybreak," Wilcher's first work, was released at the age of 14, he was one of Australia's youngest classical composers. Wilcher has performed both solo and with ensembles, and has authored more than 100 piano-related works.

Rita Crews of The Studio Quarterly Magazine described his style as "free-flowing, with an inherent romantic feel, one in which melodic line and lyricism are two primary components."

Radio stations ABC-FM and 2MBS-FM have both broadcast his music, and Wilcher's World has included two documentaries, Wilcher and the French Connection, and Wilcher's World.

Family and personal life

Phillip Leslie Wilcher was born to Naomi Joy Thompson (born 18 April 1929 – June 20, 2005) and Leslie James Wilcher (born 16 January 1923), a World War II soldier. Wilcher grew up in Camperdown. "My entire life since I was a youth was writing music has overshadowed everything." I would be content to live in a huge cardboard box with a piano and a blank sheet of manuscript paper."

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Career

Wilcher began piano lessons at the age of eight; his first teachers were Gladys Woodward and Jean Teasel. He began writing at a young age, well before his teens. Wilcher's first piano piece, "Daybreak," was released by the Sydney-based music company J. Albert & Son, making him Australia's youngest published composer. The track was later recorded by John Martin on his CD, Ancient Rivers, in 2006.

Wilcher received a prize in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod for a work titled "Autumn Mists," which Gill also included in the series, a Barcarolle, a Rhapsody, and an Etude that Gill described as a "noble effort" that "rivaled Chopin's Etude Opus 10 No. 00 No. 103. In both style and difficulty, the 4 in its concepts and challenges was suggested as a result of a smaller research that he preferred to the Opus 110 by Brahms. "He was very generous to me and encouraged me to keep going," Wilcher's autobiography says, "even foretelling" that mine was a name worth remembering."

Wilcher, a composer and musicologist who worked with J. Albert & Son, has been writing music with Holford for seven years; he later composed for Holford for more than twenty years. One of Wilcher's many highlights was a meeting with Fernando Germani, who was organist of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome during Pope Pius X11. In the Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill, where the young Wilcher played for Chopin's Mazurka in Bb minor, Op. 24 No. 1 – No. 28. 4. Germani had been so moved by his appearance that he had seen he shed a tear. "Autumn Rain," Wilcher's piano piece "Autumn Rain," was first published in J. Albert & Son's 17th year. He also worked with classical musicians Neta Maughan and Elpis Liossatos, and began a thirty-year relationship with composer Miriam Hyde. "I get a lot of joy in the fact that we - Australia - have one composer who can be effective in a medium of sensibility despite the ugliness and brutality that has dominated in so many countries," Hyde says of Wilcher. Wilcher, a 1976 graduate, became an assistant editor for J. Albert & Son's Classical/Educational Division. Wilcher's formative years were not limited to his time in the classical/educational department, but also the world of pop/rock music. Wilcher came to know Vanda and Young, Bon Scott of AC/DC, and especially Marc Hunter of Dragons through his work at Alberts. "I had no idea who [Marc Hunter] was at the time," Wilcher said of Marc Hunter. Nor did he go into detail about himself. We just talked as if we were friends and true to his word. When he first appeared in Alberts to record, he would always visit with me and talk about music. Marc was a gentleman through and through, but nothing less than stylish. I never really saw him again after leaving Alberts in 1979, but my memory of him was so vivid that when he died, I cried. I will still shed a tear for him from time to time. He was a good man; someone I will never forget."

He worked with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the 1980s (ABC). It was during Wilcher's time as an editor that brought him to terms with American Pulitzer Prize winner Ned Rorem, who was to have a major influence on Wilcher's philosophy and how creativity was the primary goal. "The purpose of life is to seek Life's meaning," Rorem had once wrote Wilcher. Wilcher considers Rom a mentor, although musically they are of different worlds. A letter between the two people spanning more than 30 years was shared. "Meanwhile, get your work done," Rosiem to Wilcher says; "Too few people know (as you and I know) what they want to do and how to do it."

Wilcher developed a kinship with the American pianist Liberace's friends and relatives, despite visiting them many times in Las Vegas. Wilcher, who was in Australia for the first time in May 1989, was given a letter of appreciation by Vince Fronza, who had read the eulogy at Liberace's funeral two years earlier. "We managed a visit to Lee's (Liberace's) grave, and I touched him softly, advising him of your visit and that we know he arranged it."

Wilcher began working in the early childhood music program at Macquarie University in the late 1980s. Wilcher was invited by music lecturer Emily App to teach a guest-tutorial/master class that revolved around music and music-making for children during his years of teaching at Macquarie University's Institute of Early Childhood. “Students were amazed,” Emily App wrote about Wilcher's class: "Students were enthralled.” "I think their enthusiasm for music and education soared." In a similar vein, Dean Alan Rice wrote: "The master class's enthusiasm and knowledge were greatly encouraging, as well as their respect and knowledge." We only get these peaking in our daily lives."

Wilcher met Anthony Field, a former member of the Australian rock band the Cockroaches who was researching child development during this period. Field, according to Wilcher, begged Field to assist them in recording their self-titled debut album. Wilcher writes that he "contributed the most musically to the debut album" on his debut album, composing 75% of the songs. The album featured another piece he wrote at 14, "Summer Dance," which was listed on the album as "Archie's Theme." Due to his admiration of Liberace, Wilcher was named Archie. "Get Ready to Wiggle" and "Dorothy the Dinosaur" were two of the company's films.

Wilcher left the Wiggles in 1992. Dianna O'Neill, the group's spokesperson, claims he resigned after deciding to write classical music. Wilcher did not sign the Consumer Affairs Statement of Change in Persons Document until November 26, 1992 - his M09577-8 number was sent by Jeff Fatt. Jeff Fatt's ship date is set as 6 July 1992, but he didn't finish signing the document until November 26, 1992, due to house renovations he was involved in at the time, and Fatt did not forward the form for signing to Wilcher until June 26.

"Archie had a lot of input into the arrangement of some songs on that first CD," Greg Page, a founding member of the United States. "He is a musical genius." However, the Wiggles' musical direction was shifting." The Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) awarded the band members, including Wilcher, with gold and platinum certificates for the album. Wilcher expressed some reservations about his work with The Wiggles in two letters dated 21 April and May 1995. Wilcher claims that Jeremy Fabinyi encouraged him to write a letter of resignation in order to officially prohibit him from incurring any costs for albums after his debut album. Wilcher left the company as a composer/writer for whom he stated a verbal deal.

A Musical Offering, Wilcher's 1993 lesson plan for early childhood activities. "Phillip Wilcher's 'A Musical Offering', according to Dulcie Holland, an innovative and innovative approach to music. The very young person is gently introduced to music as a pleasurable hobby by rhythm and rhyme, leaping, and sound. "Sounds and Silence," Holland's poem "Sounds and Silence" from "A Musical Offering" for women's choirs, will serve as a foundation for a lifetime of musical experience and richness. The Faye Dumont Singers premiered it and then EMI released it. Principal Early Childhood lecturers Rosemary Harle lauded Wilcher's "A Musical Offering": "It's refreshing to see Phillip Wilcher composing high-quality music for this very special market." It's so appropriate for the young and coveted for its originality and captivating melodies," Laurie Le Claire wrote: "I am delighted with this music." It will appeal to children of all ages and will put them to their challenges in new ways. Phillip has a keen interest in children's growing musical perceptions.

The Wiggles not only rerecorded their first album in 2000, but also renamed it "Wiggle Time" and deleted all of his artworks, making it unambiguous. In 2005, when the Wiggles became Australia's most popular children's act, he appeared to criticize the Wiggles in the media, but he has since stated that journalists mistook him for plagiarism and that he remained anonymous in the aftermath of their reports.

Phillip Wilcher has created over 100 works for solo piano, pieces for soloist and piano, as well as chamber ensembles. "His music was described by The Sydney Morning Herald as a "unique blend of classical and flim-flam." Chopin and J.S. influence Wilcher's compositions. Bach's works, as well as his Six Etudes, which use Chinese and Japanese scales, are notable for their use of Eastern scales, such as his Six Etudes. Aaron McMillan, a pianist, has written music for pianist Aaron McMillan, as well as Australian and former ABC broadcaster and journalist Clive Robertson. He has also set poetry by American librettist Jack Larson to music. He created "1791," a work commemorating Mozart on the anniversary of his death, which was performed by oboist Rachel Tolmie and the Bourbaki String Ensemble conducted by David Angell in 2007. It appeared on a compilation album, Into His Countenance (2008), which featured several artists performing Wilcher's songs.

His works have appeared on several other CDs from Jade Music and Wirripang. Jeanell Carrigan, a pianist from Puerto Rico, has six CDs of his compositions, two for Publications by Wirripang. "If he wanted to take the listener to a cafe in Paris or to the top of a Java mountain, his skilful use of harmony, rhythm, and tempi creates the perfect atmosphere," Carrigan commented on the transportive quality of Wilcher's music. Rita Crews, a writer for The Studio Quarterly Magazine, characterized Wilcher's style as "free-flowing, with an underlying romantic identity, one in which melody and lyricism are all-important elements." Mike Smith of 2MBS discovered it was of "more openly romantic character" than his earlier "work, and he was "reminded of Rachmaninov, Albeniz, and even Brahms."

Wilcher has performed both solo and with ensembles as well as writing. I have appeared three times in Las Vegas for the Liberace Foundation. The Liberace Club of Las Vegas's 1992 celebration of Liberace's birthday at the Liberace Museum on May 16, 1992, the Liberace Club of Las Vegas had this to say in the Liberace Museum Newsletter: "The 1992 Liberace Club of Las Vegas celebrated the life of a young man from Australia." Phillip Wilcher, seated in the Tivoli Lounge of Liberace, performed a stunning collection of musical selections in tribute to Liberace. His brilliant piano artistry favored classical as well as popular musical works. His artistic sensibility was also evident when he performed two of his own compositions, "Chopiniana", a piece written for the 80th birthday of a leading Australian composer's composer, and "Consolation," a beautiful melody depicting a serene serenity.

His music has been broadcast by radio stations, ABC-FM, and 2MBS-FM; the latter has aired two documentaries on his music, Wilcher and the French Connection, and Wilcher's World. He has worked in public speaking and is a founding member of the Australian Music Teacher Magazine (APRA) and a board member of the Australian Music Teachers Magazine, for which he has written articles on Chopin, Brahms, Ravel, and music education. Wilcher's music was used as part of the Australian soap opera Neighbours' soundtrack for two years, from 2005-2007.

Wilcher wrote "Remembered On Waking" after learning of Benjamin Daniel Breedlove's death, an American YouTuber from Texas, in 2011. The piece was performed and recorded by the Linden Quartet on Wilcher's album Heaven-Haven, which was released by Wirripang. In 2014, Heaven-Haven was announced. The Linden String Quartet performed the music. Wilcher learned of the tragic incident involving the death of 18-year-old Thomas Kelly's family and his relatives through his music, but Wilcher was unable to separate the emotion he felt for Kelly and his family from the emotion he was trying to convey through his music. Kelly eventually dedicated the project to Kelly, who announced that the proceeds from the album would go to the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation.

Rosemary Eather, the host of the Australian children's television show Good Morning! Wilcher's 2017 album, The Voice of Love, is dedicated to her. Including a companion and a writer, as well as solo piano, piano, and cello pieces by the composer. "Women in Early Australian Television Production," Dr. Jeannine Baker, University of Wollongong, Australia, wrote a report titled "Women in Early Australian Television Production" as part of a Media Studies Grant grant award scheme in 2021. "This research inspired composer Philip Wilcher to write a letter with Rosemary Eather, which continued as a child in the 1970s and lasted for decades," Dr. Jeannine Baker writes. This valuable addition to the collection is a rare example of both sides of the controversy between a female television personality and her audience." Jeanell Carrigan (piano) and Minah Choe (cello) were among the live performers on The Voice of Love. They were joined by Goetz Richter (violin) for Spellbound's 2019 debut. On the CD, pieces for various combinations of piano, violin, and cello appear, with Wilcher's requesting Four Scherzi as a framing device. In the liner notes, Brennan Keats, the editor of Wirripang publishing, shared some insightful comments about Wilcher: "Phillip Wilcher is a man'spellbound' by a profound spirituality that he explains with a transcendent philosophy that confronts many people in the modern world. He is a deep man who is portrayed by gentleness, compassion, and his gift of love. All this is limited by discipline, precision, delicacy, and a firmness of touch that only the truest, not the greatest of musicians, can expound. This is the most aptly named of all of his albums, in that it summarises a composer, singer, and writer of integrity, as well as one of those rare beings who rises above all others in existence, while still being very much one of us."

She appeared in two songs written for her by Wilcher at the Sydney Opera House, "In the Nape of a Dream" and "Spirit Song," which was specifically written at Goknur Shanal's request for her inclusion in her 'Songs for Refugees' exhibition. "I had been planning this concert since September 2015 when I saw the photograph of the Syrian toddler with the tiny jeans shorts and red t-shirt washed up on Turkish shores.' Goknur Shanal said, "it broke me." This remarkable evening, with cellist Kenichi Mizushima and pianist Harry Collins, was hosted by Mums 4 Refugees, with the proceeds donated to the charitable law firm Human Rights for All, which represents refugee cases on a pro bono basis. "The concert featured works by Massenet, Puccini, Giordano, as well as the Australian composer Phillip Wilcher's "World premiere of Spirit." (Sydney Opera House press release).

Wilcher has released a number of books, including an autobiography titled 'Thinking Allowed'. His piano recital for the virtuoso pianist Simon Tedeschi has piqued the interest of, and been performed by pianists around the world, including Gerhard Eckle, Eduardo Fernandez, Lemuel Grave, Adam Jackson, and Emanuel Rimoldi.

Wilcher's music evokes another time, another time, another time, and another place,' Simon Tedeschi wrote about it.' It has a haunting quality that conjures up images of the great Romantic composers. Phillip wrote a poem for me, which I hope to share soon. The 'Etudes Tedeschi' collection includes similar works in the piano repertoire, as well as the aesthetic and technical imagination of similar works. I am proud to watch this musician and composer, whom I regard as a true personal friend, grow.

John Martin (pianist), Rachel Tolmie (violinist), Erica Marsden (violinist), Elizabeth Neville (violinist), Michael Neville (violist), Melissa Docker (violinist), David Wickham (cellist), and Minah Choe (cellist).

Wilcher's most recent film, Spellbound, will appear in 2019. Marlicia Travis, a writer for Australia's "The Studio," had this to say about the "Spellbound" CD: "Spellbound" is the product of my research.

In 2020, Kim Radock had asked Wilcher to write a piano piece in honor of his mother, pianist Shirley Paton. Wirripang published the article "When eyes first saw, thy beauty was as this." The "Shirley Paton Memorial Scholarship" was established subsequent to the commission and under the control of the Music Teacher's Association of Australia (MTA), one of the scholarship's requirements being that every pianist participating in the competition be allowed to perform Wilcher's work. In the 7th Vienna International Music Competition, Wilcher received his Third Prize for his composition Rhapsody To The Memory of Richard Addinsell. Wilcher also received third place diplomas in the Franz Schubert Conservatorium's "4th World Championship for Composition" Competition in 2022 for his compositions "A Force Of Nature," "Into His Countenance," and "Piano Trio."

Wilcher has been a full-time caregiver for his father, who at the age of 99, is fighting dementia. It's a different conflict from the one in which he served in World War II as a private in the Australian Military Services, 18th Australian Field Academy, and it's a different conflict. Wilcher has said that he should revisit his father's roots more often, particularly during those times where his thought processes seem to be stifled; to "show his compassion through patience" even more. "I am not feeling well tonight." My head is making me half crazy, but I'm sure it will wear off during my sleep, so I hope so).

Matthew Bridgham, a highly respected American composer/pianist/educator, dedicated the song "Seasons of Seizing" to Wilcher and Wilcher's father. Bridgham collaborated closely with local poet and English professor Liz Whiteacre to produce the song-cycle, which reveals a certain intimacy with temporal epilepsy. Matthew Bridgham: "I collaborated with poet Liz Whiteacre (English Professor at the University of Indianapolis) in summer 2021 to create a series of poems based on my observations of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE). Liz has done an excellent job at expressing my testimonies and turning them into a beautiful series of ten poems. In November 2022, "Seasons for Seizing" will be the world premierere at Yale University.

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