Biography
Philip Rushforth began his musical training as a chorister at Chester Cathedral where he began learning the organ with the Cathedral Organist, Roger Fisher. In 1991 he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, as Organ Scholar under Dr Richard Marlow. At Trinity he broadcast and recorded frequently with the world famous college choir, and toured with them extensively in Europe, Canada and the USA. Organ studies continued with David Sanger.
Graduating in 1994, he took up the post of Assistant Organist at Southwell Minster and became the first director of the Southwell Minster Chorale. For eight years he directed the choir in Southwell and further afield.
Active as a recitalist, he has performed throughout the country and at many cathedrals and concert halls, including Westminster Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral, and King’s College, Cambridge. In September 2000 he was a finalist in the prestigious Royal College of Organists’ Performer of the Year Award, performing the Poulenc Organ Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He won many recital awards, including performing at St John’s, Smith Square and at the Dublin International Organ and Choral Festival. Invitations to Italy have seen him perform in two International Organ Festivals in Cantu and Senigallia.
In September 2002 he returned to Chester Cathedral as Assistant Director of Music. He works closely with the cathedral choirs and, in addition to the daily worship of the cathedral, regularly directs them in concert, on CD, Radio 3 and Radio 4’s Daily Service. He also organises the weekly organ recital series at the cathedral, performing regularly as a recitalist. He is in constant demand as an accompanist and soloist, both on organ and piano, performing with the Chester Music Society and Chester Bach Choir, and has appeared in the Chester Summer Music Festival and International Church Music Festival.