Date of Birth: 26th April, 1954
Melbourne–born composer Phillip Houghton was a relative latecomer to classical music, his early musical interests being rock, jazz and folk music. He spent a year studying painting at Prahran Technical College in 1972, breaking off his fine arts studies to concentrate on music. Houghton studied guitar at the Melba Conservatorium of Music for a year, then privately with noted classical guitarist and teacher Sebastian Jorgenson at the Montsalvat Artists Colony in Eltham, Victoria. Houghton’s only formal training in composition has been a period of private study with Helen Gifford in 1982, although he has spent much time in independently studying scores, recordings, and books, and in discussion with many composers and musicians. Of these, Houghton names John Champ, Sebastian Jorgenson, Peter Mummé and Helen Gifford as having been of particular importance to his compositional development. In 1984 Houghton was invited to be guest lecturer in composition and guitar technique at the Perth Guitar Festival.
Houghton was a guitar tutor at the Montsalvat Artists Colony between 1977 and 1981, and at the Preston Technical School (1980–81). He has been an examiner for the AMEB since 1991. In 1979 the ABC recorded a number of his pieces, with the composer as performer. He toured Australia as a guitar recitalist in 1980.
As a composer Phillip is self taught and his compositions reflect the influence of many styles: classical, jazz, rock, ambient and world music. His early influences include the music of Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Gryphon, Gong, Miles Davis, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Riley, Crumb and Eno, while his work continues to reflect a strong interest in art, mythology and the environment.
Houghton’s guitar music has been performed and recorded by leading musicians, including John Williams, Carlos Bonell, John Mills, Nicholas Goluses, Timothy Kain, Guitar Trek, Karin Schaupp, Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch, Anthony Field, Peter Constant and Marion Schaap (ZOO DUO). Some 20 of his guitar solos, published by Moonstone Music, are on the national syllabus (AMEB) and he is also represented in the new Benjamin Verdery Guitar Series for Frederick Harris Publishers.
At the 1990 Adelaide Festival, John Williams premiered Houghton’s work for guitar solo ‘Stele’. This performance was recorded and televised by ABC Tv. This piece appears on the John Williams CD ‘The Guitarist’.
In 1995, guitarists Peter Constant and Marion Schaap (ZOO Duo) received financial assistance from the Australia Council to produce their CD of Houghton’s works “Light on the Edge”. This CD was nominated in the 1997 ABC Record of the Year awards.
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