Phillip Arkinstall, Artist endorsee for F. Arthur Uebel is the Associate Principal Clarinetist for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Australia
“My Uebels have an ease of sound production about them I normally do not trust in other clarinets, because it often foretells intonation or sound issues. Not so here! Expressing what I’d like has never felt easier and more supported. The matching of the A and Bb clarinets is also fantastic.” – Phillip Arkinstall, April 2021.
Philip Arkinstall has been the associate principal clarinet of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
since 2009 and was principal with the Malaysian Philharmonic for 11 years before that. After
completing his Bachelor of Music at The Sydney Conservatorium under Peter Jenkin he
went on to win the ABC young performers award in 1997, playing the Francaix Concerto with
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and was the 2MBS FM radio performer of the year in 1996.
Arkinstall has appeared both as soloist and as guest principal with every Australian orchestra
and has appeared as principal with the Australian World Orchestra on tours of Australia and
India. He has recently played concerti with the Corpus Medicorum, the Royal Melbourne
Philharmonic and the Zelman Cowan orchestra and was a frequent soloist with the
Malaysian Philharmonic during his tenure there, in repetoire ranging from Mozart to Henze,
Copland ,Weber, Strauss, Bruch , Stamitz , Bernstein and Stravinsky amongst others.
His playing has been reviewed as “mellifluous, engaging and assured”.
Arkinstall is an in-demand chamber musician and has collaborated with some of the worlds
finest musicians and ensembles in that realm . He has appeared at the Townsville,
Huntingdon and Port Fairy festivals and performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra,
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra ,The Goldner Quartet, Eggner trio , Auer quartet , Wilma
and friends as well as the Australia Ensemble , and many contemporary ensembles
including; Arcko , Alpha Ensemble and Australysis groups.
He is a founding member of the Melbourne Ensemble which has appeared at the MRC and Woodend arts festival and will be the MSO’s Ensemble in residence for 2020. Since 2012 he has appeared regularly with and
toured South America and Europe with the sensational Camerata Bern of Switzerland under
the leadership of Antje Weithaas.
Arkinstall is particularly proud to be a founding member of Plexus , a trio with violinist Monica
Curro and pianist Stefan Cassomenos They have commissioned and given world premieres
across Australia to over 100 new works, largely by Australian composers in its 5 years of
existence and whose concerts are are broadcast regularly on ABC national radio. Their
collaborations have produced works with dancers, Kitt Webster lighting designer, singers
Greta Bradman and Deborah Cheetham, choirs , electronic expresser Tim Green, sculptors
such as Heather B Swann, actors Helen Morse and John English and pure trios by
luminaries such as Paul Dean, Joe Chindamo, Andrew Ford and many more .
Arkinstall has given clarinet masterclasses across Australia and Asia under the MPO umbrella and in
South America for Camerata Bern and teaches the clarinet through Melbourne University .
He has tutored at the National Music Camp , the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
and Melbourne Youth Orchestra and has conducted various small ensembles at the Dewan
Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur and across Malaysia.
Uebel Clarinets are distributed exclusively in Australia by KJ Music. For more information visit our Uebel product page.
F. Arthur Uebel are delighted to work with fascinating artists from all over the world. “Their musical passion inspires our clarinet making again and again – Their applause is our motivation!”
Discover the world of the F. Arthur Uebel artists here.