Our Staff: St. James Presbyterian Church in 2010 photo taken by Warren Johnson

Home » Our Staff

Philip Seward, Music Director

Philip Seward lists among his operatic and musical works, Sincerely Yours (premiered 2003), Juan Peron’s Hand (2002) at the Northtown Arts Center; Les Dames á trois...et piano, developed with singers Natalie Arduino, Amy Becker and Patrice Boyd (2000) at Theatre Building Chicago; High Fidelity (1998) Chicago Humanities Festival and (1999) Merkin Hall in New York; Spreading The News (1998) at North Park University; Hans Brinker (1994) at Theatre Building Chicago which was also a recipient of several Jeff Citations and an After Dark Award.

Instrumental works include incidental music for the North American premiere of Mileva Einstein (2002) at Oakton College; and Dance Suite from the Prince & the Pauper (2002) by C5.

Commissions include the youth operas Stone Soup (2001) and A Noteworthy Tale (2002) commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago; Blessing (2003) for the Lira Chamber Chorus to celebrate the 25th Papal anniversary; Psalm 8 (1997) commissioned by the Lyric Opera Chapters Executive Board as a musical memorial for former Artistic Director, Ardis Krainik. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Columbia College of Chicago.

Philip is a co-conductor of the Lira Ensemble of Chicago and has served both as a free-lance conductor and performer for many ensembles, musical shows and operas.

As a singer, some favorite performances include roles in Die Fledermaus, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, South Pacific, The King and I, Cinderella, The Beggar’s Opera, A Chorus of Disapproval, The American Clock, and Frank McCourt’s The Irish...and how they got that way.

As a pianist and singer, Philip has performed in the United States and in Europe in particular performing his own compositions and the works of other American composers.

Philip's personal website is here.