Philip Hoch’s love of the organ began when he was five years of age when he began 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 local Inland Empire community. However, his organ performance skills were greatly enhanced by his opportunity to study under the tutelage of renown organist, Frederick Swann, over the past five 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 and Masters of Music Degrees at the University of Redlands, where he studied organ with 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 was chosen by the University president to receive the President’s Honor Recital award. Preceding his attendance at UCLA, Philip demonstrated his musical abilities on the organ in a variety of venues including participation in an American Guild of Organists concert (2005); guest organist for the Loma Linda University Church (2007-2011); and guest organist for many churches, including First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (2018-Present).

While attending the University of Redlands, Philip has been involved in several activities. 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.