Philip Lawson composer

Philip Lawson is a British choral conductor, composer, and arranger. He spent 18 years as a baritone with the King's Singers and served as their principal arranger for the final 15 years of his tenure. In 2009, the group's album "Simple Gifts," which featured Lawson's arrangements on 10 out of 15 tracks, won a Grammy for "Best Classical Crossover Album." Lawson left the King's Singers in February 2012 to focus on his writing career.

Lawson was born in Crawley, West Sussex, and attended Hazelwick School. Despite not coming from a musical family, he developed an interest in music through the boys' choir at Worth Church. He studied music at the University of York under Wilfrid Mellers and sang as a counter-tenor in the choir of York Minster.

Lawson transitioned to baritone in 1978 and worked with various choirs before joining the King's Singers in 1993. During his time with the group, he contributed over 50 arrangements to their repertoire and was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for "Circle of Life." He also wrote the lyrics for "Born on a New Day," a Christmas version of the King's Singers' hit arrangement.

Lawson is a prolific composer with over 250 published choral works. Since 2016, he has served as the musical director of The Romsey Singers and was appointed as the musical director of The Farrant Singers in 2022. He has also conducted workshops and is involved in various educational and musical projects.