45 Facts About Phillip Wilcher

Phillip Leslie Wilcher was born on 16 March 1958 and is an Australian pianist and classical music composer who was a founding member of the children's music group the Wiggles.

When Wilcher published his first work, "Daybreak", at the age of 14, he was one of the youngest classical composers in Australia.

Phillip Wilcher has published over 100 piano-related works and has performed both solo and with ensembles.

Phillip Leslie Wilcher was born to Naomi Joy Thompson and Leslie James Wilcher, a World War II veteran.

Phillip Wilcher started piano lessons at the age of eight; his first teachers were Gladys Woodward and Jean Teasel.

Phillip Wilcher had entered it along with four other pieces, a Barcarolle, a Rhapsody, an Etude and a smaller study he likened to the Opus 110 by Brahms, in both style and difficulty.

One of the many highlights during Phillip Wilcher's student years with Holford was a meeting with Fernando Germani who was organist of the Basilica of St Peter in Rome during the reign of Pope Pius XII.

Phillip Wilcher studied with classical musicians Neta Maughan and Elpis Liossatos, and began a thirty-year association with composer Miriam Hyde.

Hyde is quoted as saying of Phillip Wilcher: "I find great satisfaction in the fact that we - Australia - have one composer who can succeed in a medium of sensitivity in spite of the ugliness and violence predominating in so many countries".

Rorem to Phillip Wilcher: "Meanwhile, get your work done, there are too few people who know what they want to do and how to do it".

Also in the 1980s, Phillip Wilcher developed a kinship with the friends and family of American pianist, Liberace, visiting them many times in Las Vegas.

On his return to Australia after first visiting the US in May 1989, where he played for a celebration honouring Liberace's birthday at the Desert Inn, Phillip Wilcher received a letter of appreciation dated 6 July 1989 from Vince Fronza, who had read the eulogy at Liberace's funeral two years earlier.

Fronza to Phillip Wilcher "We managed a visit to Lee's grave, and I touched that part of the mausoleum where his body is, spoke softly telling him of meeting you, and that we know he arranged it".

Less than a year later, when Ruby Keeler died, Phillip Wilcher was to publish his own obituary honouring her in a local newspaper - the Western Suburbs Courier.

Phillip Wilcher was Al Jolson's wife and held her own exact and satellite place in the expanse of 20th century theatre and film.

In 1990, Phillip Wilcher met Anthony Field, former member of the Australian rock group the Cockroaches, who was studying child development.

Phillip Wilcher was nicknamed Archie due to his admiration of Liberace.

Phillip Wilcher performed in two of the group's videos, "Get Ready to Wiggle" and "Dorothy the Dinosaur".

In two letters dated 21 April and 24 May 1995, to ABC Enterprises, Phillip Wilcher addressed certain concerns about his involvement with The Wiggles.

In 1993, Phillip Wilcher published a lesson plan for early childhood activities, A Musical Offering.

Holland would later set Phillip Wilcher's poem 'Sounds and Silence' from 'A Musical Offering' for women's choir.

Phillip Wilcher has composed over 100 works for solo piano, pieces for soloist and piano as well as chamber ensembles.

Phillip Wilcher's music was described by The Sydney Morning Heralds Steve Dow as "an eclectic mix of classical and flim-flam".

Phillip Wilcher has composed music for pianist Aaron McMillan, and for musician and former ABC broadcaster, news reader and journalist, Clive Robertson.

Phillip Wilcher has set poetry by American librettist Jack Larson to music.

Larson, whose prominence came about through portraying reporter Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s Superman TV series, gave to Phillip Wilcher a poem he had written based on a line penned by Swiss-born actor Marc Tissot, who was heir to the Tissot watch company.

Phillip Wilcher's works have been included on several other CDs released by Jade Music and Wirripang.

Phillip Wilcher describes himself as shy and somewhat reclusive, and he prefers the distance given by a sketch as opposed to a camera.

Phillip Wilcher has had an active public speaking career, and is an elected life member of Australasian Performing Right Association and a board member of the Australian Music Teacher Magazine, for which he has written articles on Chopin, Brahms, Ravel, and music education.

In 2011, on learning of the death of Benjamin Daniel Breedlove who was an American YouTuber from Texas, Phillip Wilcher wrote a piece of music for string quartet titled "Remembered On Waking".

Phillip Wilcher eventually dedicated the project to Kelly and announced that proceeds from the album would benefit the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation.

Pieces for various combinations of piano, violin and cello appear on the disc, with Phillip Wilcher's demanding Four Scherzi as a framing device.

Phillip Wilcher has written a full-scale piano recital for the virtuoso pianist Simon Tedeschi, and his music has attracted the attention of, and been performed by pianists overseas, notably Gerhard Eckle, Eduardo Fernandez, Lemuel Grave, Adam Jackson, and Emanuel Rimoldi.

Phillip Wilcher wrote a recital for me, which I hope to present soon.

Phillip Wilcher continues to compose and release music, with his most recent release, Spellbound coming in 2019.

Phillip Wilcher is an Australian composer, paving a wonderful pathway for other young Australian composers to follow in.

In 2020, Phillip Wilcher was commissioned by Kim Radock to write a piano piece in memory of his mother, pianist Shirley Paton.

In 2022, Phillip Wilcher was awarded Third Prize for his composition, Rhapsody To The Memory of Richard Addinsell, in the 7th Vienna International Music Competition, conferred by the Franz Schubert Conservatorium.

For 12 years, Phillip Wilcher was a full-time carer for his father, who was battling dementia.

Phillip Wilcher himself said that he needs to remember his father's history more often, particularly during those times his thought processes appear impeded; to "show his compassion through patience" even more.

On October 11,1997, at 39 years of age, Phillip Wilcher was admitted to Concord Repatriation Hospital following a five-day history of progressively increasing altered behaviour.

In May 2003, Phillip Wilcher was assaulted not far from his home.

Phillip Wilcher sustained many injuries including an arterial bleed and a dislocated shoulder.

Phillip Wilcher was near death on admittance to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning, May 11,2003.

Phillip Wilcher is of no fixed denomination today, but acknowledges the importance of the teachings of Christ in his life.