Philip Powers facts for kids

Philip Powers (born 1963) is an Australian record producer, composer, and author. He is best known for his work with film scores (the music in movies) and classical music. His recordings have been nominated for five ARIA Awards, which are like the Australian version of the Grammys.

Powers has produced many albums, including the soundtracks for popular Australian movies like The Lighthorsemen and The Coolangatta Gold. He has also worked with the famous Sydney Symphony Orchestra on more than 50 CDs. Many of these were with the world-renowned conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Music Career

Getting Started with Film Music

After graduating from the University of New South Wales, Philip Powers became the Director of Music for Film Australia in 1986. From 1983 to 1988, he was in charge of the music for over 200 productions. This included working with famous directors like Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion.

He was the recording producer for the movie Annie's Coming Out, which won the Best Film award from the AFI in 1984. The music for the film was also nominated for an award. Eighteen years later, he released the official soundtrack for everyone to enjoy.

Producing Movie Soundtracks

A big part of Powers's job is producing CDs of film scores. This means he helps record and release the music from movies so people can listen to it at home.

Some of the classic Australian movie soundtracks he has produced include:

• Robbery Under Arms
• The Lighthorsemen
• We of the Never Never
• The Flying Doctors
• Road Games
• Patrick
• The Coolangatta Gold

He also wrote and produced music for plays, documentaries, and animated short films. One of these was an animated film called Ironbark Bill, which was shown in movie theaters before big films like Crocodile Dundee.

Working with Orchestras

In 2008, Powers began working with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a recording manager. This was just before the famous pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy became the orchestra's chief conductor. Together, they recorded many CDs, including music by composers like Elgar and Prokofiev. They also recorded all of Mahler's symphonies.

In 2014, he started producing the orchestra's concerts so they could be streamed live on the internet for people to watch from anywhere. In 2016, a recording he produced of singer Josh Pyke with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra won an ARIA Award.

Writing Career

Besides his work in music, Philip Powers is also an author. In 2020, he wrote a book called “Black and White: Sidney Poitier's Emergence in the 1960s as a Black Icon”. The book is about the famous actor Sidney Poitier and his importance as a Black star in the 1960s.