Biography
Phillip O'Banion, a percussionist active across a spectrum that stretches from avant-garde repertoire to gospel, regularly appears as a guest with the Philadelphia Orchestra while serving as artistic director of the percussion program at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.
Born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, during May 1980, he completed a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance at Southern Methodist University in Texas and later obtained a master’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He then received an Artist Diploma from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, where he first joined the faculty as an assistant professor before assuming leadership of the percussion program. Under his guidance the program’s faculty has grown to include nationally recognized teachers and performers, and it now attracts students from throughout the United States. O’Banion remains engaged with the Percussive Arts Society and has appeared frequently at its annual PASIC international convention.
Alongside his teaching commitments he sustains a broad performing and recording career. He appears regularly with both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony as well as additional orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and percussion ensembles. His activities have taken him to Canada and Argentina, where he presented the South American premiere of Philippe Manoury’s Le Livre des Claviers at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Recordings featuring his work have appeared on the Telarc, Gasparo, and Bridge labels among others, and he has contributed to projects by gospel star Kirk Franklin. In 2016 he issued his solo debut, Digital Divide, on the Independent Records label. O’Banion has commissioned more than thirty new works and has collaborated with composers such as Adam Silverman, Marc Mellits, and Alejandro Viñao. With fellow Temple faculty member Nathan Buonviri he performs as the percussion duo a2. In 2021 he joined the Philadelphia Percussion + Piano Project for the BCM+D label recording No Strings Attached: Percussion Music by Marc Mellits.
Born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, during May 1980, he completed a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance at Southern Methodist University in Texas and later obtained a master’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He then received an Artist Diploma from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, where he first joined the faculty as an assistant professor before assuming leadership of the percussion program. Under his guidance the program’s faculty has grown to include nationally recognized teachers and performers, and it now attracts students from throughout the United States. O’Banion remains engaged with the Percussive Arts Society and has appeared frequently at its annual PASIC international convention.
Alongside his teaching commitments he sustains a broad performing and recording career. He appears regularly with both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony as well as additional orchestras, wind ensembles, choirs, and percussion ensembles. His activities have taken him to Canada and Argentina, where he presented the South American premiere of Philippe Manoury’s Le Livre des Claviers at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Recordings featuring his work have appeared on the Telarc, Gasparo, and Bridge labels among others, and he has contributed to projects by gospel star Kirk Franklin. In 2016 he issued his solo debut, Digital Divide, on the Independent Records label. O’Banion has commissioned more than thirty new works and has collaborated with composers such as Adam Silverman, Marc Mellits, and Alejandro Viñao. With fellow Temple faculty member Nathan Buonviri he performs as the percussion duo a2. In 2021 he joined the Philadelphia Percussion + Piano Project for the BCM+D label recording No Strings Attached: Percussion Music by Marc Mellits.
Albums
