PHILIP A. WOODMORE, Ph.D.

Founder & Executive Director

Philip’s passion for music was revealed while he was quite young. Even though he played the Cello and Suzuki Violin his main instrument became the piano. He began taking piano lessons at Townsend Piano School at age five. At age sixteen, he received a fellowship from the University of Missouri-Columbia to study gospel music for a semester.  In addition, he has two years of gospel piano and a year of jazz piano training. Although, he enjoys most genres of music, most of his formal training and study has been in classical music. 

Philip developed a passion for choral music after being an active member of all choral programs at Crestview Middle and Marquette High Schools. He is the founder of the Marquette High School Gospel Choir, and was the president and director of the Saint Louis University Gospel Choir for five years. He began playing the piano at his father’s church at age nine and is presently the choir director of the adult choir and the pianist for the church. 

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Along with his work with choral music at church and at school, Philip developed a niche in Musical Theatre.  Philip has been the accompanist for several shows around the Saint Louis area such as The Children’s Workshop Theatre’s productions of The Best Christmas Pageant Everand Annie; Spotlight Theatre Company’s productions of Oliver, West Side Story, andJeykll and Hyde. He was the accompanist for Marquette High School’s productions of Guys and Dolls, Grease, Joseph, Fiddler on the Roof, Footloose, Little Shop of Horrors, The King and I, and Bye Bye Birdie. He had the opportunity of traveling with the Bye Bye Birdiecast and crew to the 2004 International Thespian Society Conference in Joplin, Missouri where the show was performed for high school theatre companies from around the state of Missouri. In the fall of 2005 he had the honor of vocal directing his first musical for Marquette High School, Aida,and also in 2005 was the Assistant Vocal Director & Accompanist at the McClure High School Theatre Company’s production of Evita which was performed at 2005 International Thespian Society Conference in Joplin, Missouri. In recent years he has vocal directed Sweeny Todd and West Side Storyfor McClure High School and was the pit director for Guys and Dolls andHigh School Musical for Marquette High School. Philip has also worked on many other productions for Marquette and McClure such as Peter Pan, Christmas Carol, Fame, Urinetown,Bat Boy, High School Musical, Hairspray,Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into the Woods, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  He had the honor of traveling with the cast and crew of Into the Woods to the 2012 ITS Conference in St. Louis, MO.

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Philip also developed a passion for singing early in life. He continued vocal training at Saint Louis University under the direction of Dr. Jeral B. Becker and became a member of the Saint Louis University Mastersingers. He performed the role of Raphel in The Creation, King Melchior in Amahland the Night Visitors, and held the lead role of Elijah in Elijah. He was a member of the chorus and understudy for King Balthazar in LyriCo Opera Company’s 2004 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.He was a member of the Saint Louis American Kantorei Choir, a prestigious group that performs many classical works around the city of Saint Louis under the direction of Dr. Robert Bergt from 2005 - 2007. During the Fall Concert Series of the American Kantorei Philip sang the Soprano and Bass duet Herr dein Mit leidfrom the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 by Johann Sebastian Bach.  During his masters he studied with Rosemarie Calandro at Webster University and during his PhD Philip studied with Steven Tharp at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2014 Philip had the honor of performing the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. for COCA’s 10thAnniversary production of Ragtime.

Philip received his BS/BA in Business Marketing and Music Vocal Performance from Saint Louis University in 2005 and Masters in Music Education from Webster University in 2010. In May 2020, Dr. Woodmore graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with his doctorate in music education.  Philip’s research interests are in the changing voice and the middle school singing experience and also transformation in the arts. Philip's dissertation title is Antigone in Ferguson: The experience of seven members of the democratic chorus in a social justice musical production.   In September 2018 Philip was published in the Missouri School Music Magazine with an article about keeping our young men in choral programs through their voice change.

In 2005 Philip received the Vocal Music Position at Ferguson and Berkeley Middle Schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and in 2006 he accepted the Vocal Music Teaching Position at Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood School District where he is currently teaching. He began working for the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in 1999 as an accompanist for various summer music theatre camps. He has been an accompanist for COCA’s 2001 summer production of Into the Woods Junior and 2004 spring production at Rossman School of Honk Junior. He was the vocal director and accompanist for COCA’s summer productions of The Boyfriend,Annie Jr,, Once on This Island,Seussical the Musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat,Aida, Little Shop of Horrors, the Saint Louis non-equity premier of Legally Blonde, and the Missouri State premier of In the Heights., Bring it On, Mirette,Songs for a New World and is currently working on COCA’s 2015 summer production of Memphis with esteemed director Duane Martin Foster who was in the original Broadway cast of Ragtime.  In 2007 he received the position as Coordinator of Voice at COCA and is currently in charge of COCA’s voice program.  Philip is a vocal coach to many students around the Saint Louis area and is currently focusing on preparing students for college auditions. In 2010 Philip was named director of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department Choir and has work on many projects with SLMPD Choir throughout the Saint Louis area including a collaboration concert at Fee Fee Baptist Church.  In April 2014 Philip was asked to lead a group of singers at the Installment Ceremony of the new President at Northern Arizona University. Since his time last spring Philip has been named the director of the newly founded NAU gospel choir and will be working with this choir this year to prepare the university’s first Black History Month Gospel Music Celebration.  

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In August 2016 Bryan Doerries with Theater of War Productions asked Philip to compose an original score for a translated version of Sophocles’ Antigone called Antigone in Ferguson that Bryan presented in Ferguson, MO on September 17, 2016. The Onassis Foundation granted Bryan and Philip funds for a premiere performance of Antigone in Ferguson in New York City in October of 2016.  Following its inaugural performance, Antigone in Ferguson has performed in Camden, Maine; Baltimore, Maryland; Athens, Greece; Brooklyn, New York; Hanover, New Hampshire; Williamstown and Worcester, Massachusetts.  Bryan and Philip also collaborated on a project surrounding the final sermon of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Drum Major Instinct, which premiered at the BRIC in Brooklyn, New York on April 30, 2017. Following its debut performance, The Drum Major Instinct has performed in St. Louis, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland, and Athens, Greece. 

Philip was also asked to create music for a Frederick Douglass speech which premiered in Staten Island, New York in March of 2018. In 2018, Antigone In Ferguson was funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for a 5-week run at the Off-Broadway theater, the Gatehouse Harlem Stage in Harlem, New York followed by a 10-week run in 2019 at the St. Ann and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York. In 2020 Woodmore joined the Muny family as the Music Director for the Muny Kids performing troupe and is excited to build a strong partnership with the Muny. Prior to the pandemic, Woodmore began a collaboration with Theater of War Productions and The Valentine to develop The Shockoe Bottom Project which will now hopefully premiere in Richmond, Virginia in the upcoming year. In the fall of 2021 Woodmore began his master in psychology at Arizona State University and will be working with the Black State of Arizona on several projects in 2022 and 2023. Woodmore is excited to announce that in January 2022 he will make a new partnership with Metro Theater St. Louis, serving as the music director for the children’s musical, Last Stop on Market Street.

Philip is thankful for the many musical opportunities he has been afforded and continues to trust God as he serves Him through music.