Philip O’Reilly was born in Coventry. His forebears emigrated from Ireland in the 1860’s and his grandfather married the suffragette Emily Winkworth, whose father was a choral lay clerk at Rippon Cathedral, York Minster and Christchurch Cathedral Oxford.
Philip first studied engineering and worked in the motor industry for some years. He then embarked upon vocal study with Otokar Kraus, whilst working as a professional chorister in London. His Operatic debut came with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in their acclaimed production of Rossini’s Cenerentola as Don Magnifico. This led to regular appearances on stage in opera houses as far flung as Reggio Emilia where Pavarotti made his debut, to Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
His concert repertoire is considerable ranging from early to contemporary music, and results from performances and recordings with many leading conductors and orchestras, and in festivals including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Granada, Tokyo and The BBC Promenade Concerts.
Since retiring from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, he is researching the vocal works of J.S. Bach, hopefully to shed new light on the voice types Bach had in his choirs and how they coped with the heavy work load.
Mullingar Choral Society 