Sarah Ann Phillips - COTFG Interview Series

Sarah Ann Phillips

BIO

  Music had been the constant thread through the life of performer/composer and singer/songwriter, Sarah Ann Phillips. The youngest of four, Sarah was the only of her siblings who sustained her piano lessons. Her love of the piano and natural affection for classical music put her on track to pass the auditions for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Dallas).  After high school, she was accepted into the Music Therapy program at Loyola University of New Orleans, but changed her major to Music Composition. She earned her Bachelors of Music, then set off to California Institute of the Arts, where she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in the Performer/Composer program. Adventures in her musical career paved a way for commissions by new music ensembles, studio recordings, artist residencies, and festivals, which has led to travels nationally and internationally. She currently creates, works and lives in Austin, TX. 

See Sarah Ann Phillips YouTube Channel

COTFG: What are your musical or general artistic influences for your historical works and/or your current projects?

After contemplating which composers have influenced me most, I must say that it has been my teachers who have had the greatest impact on my musical influences. I’ve had many music teachers so I can’t get to them all, but I will mention a few. My piano teacher during my formative years, Chris Duncan (Dallas), taught more than piano technique. She prepared all of her students for music theory state exams and local piano competitions. My high school piano teacher, Eva Flowers (Dallas) was such a kind and loving person to all of her students while upholding rigorous training in scales, scrupulous fingerings, and subtle pedal techniques. At Loyola University of New Orleans, my composition professor, Jimbo Walsh, not only showed me the building blocks of composition but modern tonalities, the art of improvisation, and a belief in my musical talents. In graduate school, Wadada Leo Smith (Association for the Advancement of Creative Music), taught me systemic improvisation, extended techniques, collaborative composition, and his notation system, Ankhrasmation.

Lastly, I’d like to mention my father, who recently passed away from Alzheimer’s. He was not a musician, but he felt music deeply and was always supportive in my musical endeavors. He inspired the title, Future Wonders, which later became my first chamber ensemble piece. He also gave me the idea for an album title, Common Music for the Outsider. I may never complete the album, but I will forever hold onto the concept and ideal, closely in my inner musings.

The catalyst for my current project is Covid-19. It is a piece titled Music-21, written for solo cello and to be played by Henna Chou (Austin). Each section will be recorded using differing, specified parameters and then recorded in layers to create a cello section effect.  A narrative-based piece, comprised of written and improvised parts, it is structured in three movements: magnitude, solitude, and lassitude. Music-21 is a work in progress, so more info will be posted as the project unravels on my Instagram page, @pharas_phrequency.

COTFG: What other ways of expression do you hope to explore using recorded video or live streaming? Building YouTube page & IG pages

The pandemic has forced many of us to spend more time at home and without public performances, it has been a great catalyst for beginning the process of finally getting to work on my Youtube channel. Since my employment is related to music publishing, copyright, and artist social pages, creating a Youtube page with good visuals and links, has become more crucial in my budding entrepreneurial mind. My Youtube channel continues to be a work in progress.

I have not experienced live streaming yet, but I did create two Instagram pages, during the early days of pandemic boredom. I create short videos and pattern-based images using my iPhone. One of the pages is a visual art page (@socialpostingslab) and the other is a playful page where I create selfie videos (@pose.n.publish). The next step would be for me to create music or sound effects for those videos, but that is for another future time.

COTFG: What have you been listening to lately?

Honestly, I’ve been a news junkie this past year, plus the occasional audiobook or podcast about intuition, meditation, and self-awareness. There is one podcast I would recommend, especially for composers looking for a good laugh; it’s called, Obscure Music History. In general, though, I listen to a variety of music, but here are some recent selections. As a counterbalance to the constant stream of news I have been feeding myself, I started listening to a lot of reggae, via recommendations from friends on Facebook. One of my favorite recommendations was Righteous Wave Movement, a modern reggae fusion group (righteouswavemovement.bandcamp.com).

What seems to be a nostalgia for listening to CD’s, I recently pulled out a CD from my personal collection, by a friend of mine and drummer/composer, Rich West. The album is called Mayo Grout’s Know Universe. Rich West has released several albums (groutmusic.bandcamp.com), working with musicians in the L.A. Jazz and improv scene.  I also listened to another CD from my collection by Japanese artist Toru Takemitsu, In Autumn Garden. If I were to listen to my favorite piano players, I would listen to Sun Ra, Muhal Richard Abrams, Cecil Taylor, and Matt Shipp.  

COTFG: What does experimental/avant-garde mean to you? 

This is a great question. As a general statement, I would define it as not the mainstream; against the stream, that which pushes boundaries and is unorthodox in regards to established practices. More specifically though, experimental and avant-garde have different connotations, for me personally. I associate avant-garde as a part of the lineage of Jazz. Experimental is music created using electronic sounds, synths, etc. Of course, people have different definitions, depending on one’s background and musicologists may not agree with me. I considered looking up the definitions, but I decided to keep my answer personal and authentic.

Connect with and find out more about Sarah Ann Phillips at:

- Instagram page: @pharas_phrequency
- Youtube channel

- Selected Discography: Sound for the Organization of Society (Interval Mechanic, Research of an Aesthetic, Coming Full Circle)
on Spotify, iTunes, Youtube

- Fear is not the State of Civilized People, Daren Burns on Bandcamp