About

Pictured from left to right: Yun (Janice) Lu, Joshua Phillips, Isaac Kim. Brahms Trio performance, Cal State Fullerton, 2017.

Dr. Joshua Phillips is an active freelance clarinetist and teacher throughout Southern California and is on faculty at Victor Valley College and Riverside City College, Coil School for the Performing Arts. Joshua recently won the position of Second Clarinet in the San Luis Obispo Symphony, joining the SLO Symphony in their 2023-2024 season. Joshua has toured and concertized in China, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, and throughout North America with various chamber and orchestral ensembles as well as his group, Driftwood Trio. Joshua is a founding member and clarinetist of DriftWood Trio, an award winning contemporary trio d’anches since 2018. Joshua has been a member of the Orange County Clarinet Consort since 2014 and most recently has taken on the role as Executive and Artistic Director.

Recent highlights include the premiere of Isaiah Castro’s Clarinet Concerto with the Synesthesia Sinfonietta, a guest solo performance of Scott McAllister’s BlackDog with the RCC Symphonic Winds, and a concert tour of Ireland. Joshua has also had exclusive engagements such as solo recitals at the Palm Springs Cultural Center and Grossmont Community College; chamber recitals at the Palm Springs Cultural Center and ClarinetFest in Denver, Colorado; orchestral appearances with San Luis Obispo Symphony and the Temecula Valley Symphony.

Originally from Lake Arrowhead, California, Joshua attended Riverside City College where he studied with Margaret Worsley. Joshua then transferred to California State University, Fullerton where he studied with Håkan Rosengren and received his Bachelor of Music cum laude in 2017 in clarinet performance. Joshua continued his education in New York at Stony Brook University, under the tutelage of Alan Kay, where he received his Master of Music degree in 2019 and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2022.

Although classically trained, Joshua performs in a myriad of styles and particularly enjoys collaborating with composers and commissioning new works for the clarinet. Joshua has a personal commitment to expanding the clarinet repertoire by commissioning works from diverse and underrepresented composers. Joshua has been fortunate to work with a selection of wonderfully talented composers including Nirmali Fenn, Yaz Lancaster, Matthew Barnson, Wilhemina Esary, Chelsea Loew, Aeryn Santillan, Kevin Kay, Roger Przytulski, Laura Kramer, Sarah Wald, Christin Hablewitz, and Matthew Johnston.

Since 2018, Joshua has served as a council member of the inaugural Staller Center for the Arts Advisory Council in Stony Brook, New York. In addition to his involvement on the Advisory Board, Joshua has been the Artistic Director of the Outreach Program Concerts as well as Assistant to the Director of Outreach. His time at the Staller Center has consisted of expanding the Outreach Program and developing a series of outreach concerts which include the Instrument Petting Zoo: in Concert! series, as well as the Staller Center Outreach Ensemble which performs regularly at the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, sponsored by Island Federal Credit Union.