Philip Tappan

Philip Tappan is a composer and conductor whose work ranges from orchestral and chamber music to projects combining music, text, and movement. Literature, myth, and place provide recurring starting points. He is drawn to the moment when an idea begins to suggest a sound, a gesture, or a dramatic situation—and to the possibilities that emerge when other artists enter the conversation.

His developing chamber dramatic cycle, Pantheon, brings figures from Greek myth into contact with contemporary questions. Beginning with the completed CIRCE, the six-movement project creates space for musicians, voices, and movement to explore stories that remain unsettled in our own lives. It reflects his interest in sustained artistic partnerships and work that connects concert and theatrical settings.

His catalogue includes Symphony No. I, “Chamber”, the silent-film score Old Boots, P(I)e(A)ce for violin and piano, and vocal and instrumental chamber works. His music has been programmed by the American Youth Philharmonic. Murphy Music Press publishes Hip Knot and Vicinity Lyra.

Tappan brings 15 years of experience with professional large ensembles and musicians. Composition has been an important influence on his conducting, shaping a passion for re-creating music with an ensemble that breathes and moves as a unified organism. In 2017, he worked with Kabul University musicians at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, sharing musical ideas through workshops, rehearsals, and a joint concert. His approach values listening, preparation, and the relationships through which music develops beyond the page.

Tappan studied composition at Manhattan School of Music.