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The English baritone, singing teacher and choral director, Phil Wilcox, attended the Thomas Hardye School where he began his vocal training and sang with the Chapel Choir (1999-2004). He graduated with a Bachelor of Ats degree (Hons) in Music Studies from Leeds College of Music (2005-2008), studying singing with Christian Immler and Jane Anthony, and was honoured to receive the Douglas Robinson Memorial Prize for Opera. His early post-degree training continued under Paul Nilon.
In 2015, Phil Wilcox relocated to London to take up a Master’s in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. There he studied with Alexander Ashworth and Audrey Hyland, graduating in 2017 - and later becoming a Licentiate of the RAM. During his time there, he performed the roles of Kalenik in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's May Night, Polyphemus in George Frideric Handel's Acis and Galatea, and covered Liberto in C. Monteverdi's L’Incoronazione di Poppea. He sang in the RAM/Kohn Foundation - J.S. Bach: The Cantatas with Iain Ledingham, gave recitals at Wigmore Hall and Marylebone Parish Church, participated in a public master-class with Dennis O’Neill, and contributed to education projects at Hackney Empire, the Royal Academy Museum and Glyndebourne. He was also a member of the Academy’s Song Circle and was grateful to be supported by the Josephine Baker Trust.
Since leaving RAM, Phil Wilcox has pursued a varied operatic and concert career. He has sung as a soloist in productions with Grange Park Opera, English Touring Opera, Buxton Festival Opera, Northern Opera Group, Retrospect Opera, Merry Opera Company, XOGA, Devon Opera, Felici Opera, Proper Opera, Opera on Location, and Young Opera Venture. Operatic roles include Il Conte di Almaviva and Papageno in W.A. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute; The Earl of Dunmow in Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement and Peter in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Klunker in Suppé's Zehn Mädchen und kein Mann and Der Zar in Kurt Weill's Der Zar lässt sich photographieren. Other operatic roles include Gasparo in Rita for Charing Cross Theatre; The Duke of Plaza Toro in The Gondoliers, Dulcamara in Elixir of Love, Gazella in Lucrezia Borgia, Alcindoro in La bohème and Russell the Tree in How to Find Your Name for English Touring Opera; Krakamiche in Le dernier sorcier, Kromov in The Merry Widow, Ataliba in Alzira, Captain in Eugene Onegin and cover Banquo in Macbeth for Buxton International Festival; Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park, Cadmus in Semele and Father in Hansel and Gretel (in a production in which Phil accompanied himself on the piano accordion) for Waterperry Opera Festival; Prince Vyazemsky in Ivan the Terrible for Grange Park Opera; and Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance for productions by Merry Opera and Opera Holland Park Inspire in both the UK and Saudi Arabia.
As a concert soloist over nearly twenty years, he has performed oratorio staples such as G.F. Handel's Messiah, Samson and Israel in Egypt; J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion BWV 244, Johannes-Passion BWV 245 and Lukas-Passion BWV 246; Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater; Verdi's Requiem, Goodall's Eternal Light: A Requiem, and Glass' Songs of Milarepa. He also regularly sings with professional ensembles including the BBC Singers, Platinum Consort and the Philharmonia Chorus, and has been a Lay Clerk at Bradford and Manchester Cathedrals, while also singing frequently at venues such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, Brompton Oratory, Chapel Royal St James’s Palace, the Guards Chapel and Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Phil Wilcox is proud to be the Learning and Participation Manager for Leeds Song where he coordinates and delivers workshops in schools and community groups - engaging young people, people with learning disabilities, and the wider public in the world of classical song. As a vocal animateur he has worked in partnership with Royal Ballet and Opera, English National Opera, Wigmore Hall, Opera North, Bradford Cathedral, Hull University, RAM’s Open Academy, the NHS Training Academy, the Leadership Foundation for HE, Endemol, Enotria & Coe, Amnesty International, Bank of England and Surbiton High School among others.
Phil Wilcox' first experience in choral direction came in 2009 when he was invited to start a choir at Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett). Since then, he has directed several groups and currently run choirs at three London law firms through Music in Offices, and a community choir, Fleet Singers, based in Gospel Oak. In 2025, he was appointed Musical Director of the East Grinstead Choral Society. He believes in leading with positivity and encouragement while pursuing high-quality music-making - each group balancing large-scale choral works with lighter, revue-style concerts, Come-and-Sing days and festive carol services.
Phil Wilcox' loves the richness of a portfolio career, and finds fulfilment in singing, directing, educating, and performing. Outside the more formal concert platform, he plays piano accordion and bass guitar in ceilidh bands at folk festivals across the UK and Europe. Away from music, he recharges with long walks through the Lakes, the Peaks and the Dales - and by making and savouring excellent food, wine and coffee. |
