Philip Burditt - in his own words:

“I started to play the bassoon at school largely because one was available. Since then I’ve also taken on saxophones, baroque recorder and electric bass (so I can be a rock god). However, I regard singing as the fundament of music technique and while I didn’t go to choir school I did do a fair bit of it, including church and chapel choirs and even a bit of barbershop, not forgetting some splendid opportunities to sing in Ely cathedral and to work with John Dankworth.
I read music at Manchester University which proved, initially, to be a quixotic diversion as I then went into the family business making paper and packaging. For ten years we sponsored a championship brass band and I was able to see and work with some great conductors in rehearsal and performance, especially John Berryman and Bramwell Tovey, two excellent conductors with complementary yet wildly different styles. Eventually we sold the business and I decided to do some serious music making.
When you’ve grappled with the bassoon for years, the thought of directing a band of unruly musicians seems relatively straightforward. (why else would so many bassoonists become conductors?). Acquiring experience with a range of ensembles I also studied conducting with, among others, Tim Reynish, Baldur Bronniman and Laszlo Marosi.
As time passed I realised I’ve learned most of what I know from seeing terrible conductors in action. I imagine they won’t want to be named and shamed. But I must be doing something right as I’m finding it harder to make time for playing, even having to give up being a rock god. I currently conduct the Abingdon and Bicester concert bands in Oxfordshire and the Abington Wind Band in Northampton. Having recently conducted the Ampthill Concert Orchestra it was encouraging to be asked back, ‘on a more permanent basis’. I’m also a regular course tutor for music courses and do playing days and clinics for groups across the country.
As well as conducting, I do sound reinforcement and recording, and run a small wind ensemble. Occasionally my wife Amanda lets me out to play the bassoon in orchestras or bands, but we like to have some time together in our village home near Northampton with our young son Charles, a lurcher and a parrot.”