Born in London in 1974, Joseph Phibbs has been hailed as “one of the most successful composers of his generation” (BBC Music Magazine). He studied at The Purcell School with Param Vir, continued at King’s College London under Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and later pursued doctoral work at Cornell University with Steven Stucky. Over the past 25 years, his music has been championed by leading conductors including Edward Gardner, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Vassily Petrenko, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Leonard Slatkin.
Phibbs’s chamber opera Juliana (2018) was widely praised, described as a “naturalistic tragedy for our times” (Opera Today) and “brilliantly written, with a spaciousness and sure sense of timing” (BBC Music Magazine). In 2024, following portrait concerts at Wigmore Hall, he celebrated his 50th birthday at Kings Place with premieres of his Clarinet Quintet and Six Pieces for Solo Clarinet. That same year, Nimbus Records released his String Quartets Nos. 2–4, performed by the Piatti Quartet; the album earned international acclaim, with critics noting the growing power and stature of his work.
A prolific orchestral composer, Phibbs has received major commissions from the Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Notable works include a percussion concerto for Evelyn Glennie, Partita, Rivers to the Sea (winner of a British Composer Award), and a Clarinet Concerto later named one of The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Albums of 2019. His widely performed vocal music appears in the repertory of Tenebrae, The Sixteen, and ORA Singers.
Phibbs’s Cello Concerto for Guy Johnston premiered at the Barbican in January to critical acclaim, with a recording forthcoming. Current projects include Mrs T, a stage work about Margaret Thatcher created with historian Dominic Sandbrook, and a new piano trio for the Gould Trio, scheduled for premiere at Wigmore Hall in 2028.
Mayfest 