Philip Hoch’s love of the organ began when he was five years of age when he started taking organ lessons from his grandmother, Dr. Olga Schmidt, an accomplished organist in her own right. She helped Philip become a serious student and performer in the Inland Empire community. However, his organ performance skills were greatly enhanced by his opportunity to study under the tutelage of renown organist Dr. Frederick Swann for years at the University of Redlands School of Music. Professor Swann has enriched Philip’s skills by having him understand the different colors and textures of all genres of organ literature. With Swann’s expertise in colorful registration and dynamics, Philip is able to captivate audiences with his musical sensibility and personal interpretation.
Philip has earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music Degrees at the University of Redlands, where he studied organ with Dr. Frederick Swann and piano with Louanne Long. Upon graduating, he received the School of Music Performance Award, the first organ student to receive this honor. Additionally, he became a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, a distinguished music honor society recognizing scholarship excellence. He won the University of Redlands’ President’s Honor Recital in the Spring of 2016 for his artistry and talent.
Philip has also demonstrated his musical abilities on the organ in a variety of venues. These include participating in American Guild of Organists concert series (2005 and 2019), organist for the UCLA Wind Ensemble (2019), and served as guest organist for many churches, including the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (2018-Present). In the spring of 2015, Philip was the guest organist accompanying the distinguished choral ensemble, the University of Redlands Chapel Singers, during the visit of His Holiness the Karmapa. The program featured a choral work His Holiness composed with organ accompaniment, which was premiered world-wide during a live broadcast to eight million people.
Currently, Philip is pursuing a doctoral degree in musical arts in organ performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music studying under the tutelage of one of the world’s renown organists, Dr. Christoph Bull. He is also serving as organ scholar at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles – home of the famous 5-manual Aeolian-Skinner organ.