Philip Arkinstall

Philip completed a Bachelor of Music degree with first class honours at the Sydney Conservatorium where he studied with Peter Jenkin.He has a reputation for versatility and has worked as a guest principal with the Sydney Symphony, the ACO, Australian Opera and Ballet, the Melbourne, Queensland and West Australian Symphonies and contemporary groups including The Alpha Ensemble, The Australia Ensemble and Ausralysis.

Philip’s studies abroad were greatly assisted by scholarships notably from The Big Brother Movement, The Queen’s Trust and Youth Music Australia. He was selected for The National Academy program in Melbourne which offered the unique experience of spending many summers playing chamber music with and having tuition from members of the Berlin Philharmonic and other top european teachers including Wenzel Fuchs,Roger Birnstingl, Georg Faust and Wolfram Christ, the Academy’s director. In 2001 he toured Australia for Musica Viva with The Hungarian Auer Quartet performing The Brahm’s quintet . He has had a broad range of chamber music engagements including a most exciting series of concerts in Mumbai featuring Messian’s quartet for the End of time and Bartok’s Contrasts.

After making his solo debut at 15 with the Sydney Symphony , he has since performed with the Queensland Philharmonic, West Australian Symphony and the Tasmanian Symphony under conductors such as John Hopkins, Edvard Tchivzel, Larry Ratcliff , Justin Brown and Henryk Pisarek. Philip was the winner of the 2mbs FM radio performers award in 1996 and the following year won the prestigious Young Performer of the Year award presented by the ABC after a live nationally televised final, a performance of the Francaix concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Philip was principal clarinet with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra from 1998 until 2009 and appeared on numerous occasions as a soloist with them in repertoire ranging from Henze’s Miracle of the Rose to Weber’s 2nd concerto, working with Kees Baakels, Mathias Bamert, Paul Mann, and Kevin Field amongst others. He took up his current position of associate principal with the Melbourne Symphony in 2009 also teaching at the Melbourne University and Victorian College of the Arts.