music, rugby, tortoises and dogs, knitting

Angus McPhee is a graduate of King's College and London and the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Alexander Ashworth and Jonathan Papp.

A former Head Chorister of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, he served as a gap year choral scholar at York Minster before going on to study music at King’s College London where he sang as a choral scholar under the late David Trendell. It was David who inspired Angus' interest in the music of late Medieval to early Renaissance England and Flanders, as well as the German Baroque and high Romantic idioms. As a composer Angus relishes the prospect of relevansing these techniques and influences within modern composition. He has composed for such ensembles as The Sixteen (the RA, 2019); Aurora Nova (St Paul's Cathedral 2019); Eo Nomine (Temple Church 2015) and All the King's Men (2012). 

A proud product of the English choral tradition, Angus sings regularly with the professional choirs of Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, St George's Windsor, and the Temple Church, whilst he holds a position as a regular bass in the chapel choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea under the renowned pianist William Vann. Rewarding experiences as a musician have included participation on the inaugural Genesis Sixteen training programme (2011-12), De Nederlandse Bachvereniging's acclaimed Johannes Passion (2017), and the Monteverdi Apprentices (2018-19). As a consort musician he appears regularly with Europe’s leading ensembles including The Sixteen; Monteverdi Choir; English Concert; Oxford Camerata; Stile Antico; and Collegium Vocale Gent; Het Nederlands Kamerkoor; and De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, whilst he has appeared as a soloist under the batons of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Harry Christophers, Philippe Herreweghe, Peter Dijkstra, and Jeremy Summerly. 

Beyond music Angus maintains a wide - and perhaps surprisingly varied - range of hobbies. When time allows he runs out regularly as a utility forward (ideally hooker) for Bank of England RFC, and he holds an RFU coaching qualification. He loves walking the family labrador Evie and springador Archie, and has a soft spot for tortoises: "My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out. There are going to be times in your life when you’re going to have to stick your neck out. There will be challenges and instead of hiding in a shell, you have to go out and meet them" (Ruth Westheimer). He in 2019 took up knitting as a means to fill long flights and train journeys between concerts and has since come to rely on it as a cathartic experience: his pride and joy thus-far is a stuffed tortoise named Yoda.