Philip Kates has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1980, and concurrently a frequent Guest Concertmaster with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, the Strauss Orchestra of America, and of the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, with which he has made annual solo appearances since 1981.
Recital and Chamber Music performances have been many and varied, including the Philadelphia premier in 1980 of the Delius String Quartet, the first Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Series performance of the Fritz Kreisler String Quartet in 2001, the Philadelphia premier of the Delius Violin Concerto in 2002, and many others.
A founding member of the Midsummer Quartet and Liebesfreud Ensemble, Mr. Kates is also a composer of several dozen works for voice, solo violin, and various chamber groupings.
His teachers have included Jascha Brodsky, Sally Thomas, Norman Carol, and Joseph de Pasquale. Mr. Kates studied Chamber Music with Norbert Brainin, Isadore Cohen, Felix Galimir, Josef Gingold, Alexander Schneider, Vladimir Sokoloff, Susan Starr, Arnold Steinhardt, Isaac Stern, and Michael Tree.
