Philip Wesley

“For me, playing the piano is the most gratifying form of self expression. Where words fail there is music.” The road to the piano for Philip Wesley has not been a straight path. You could say the piano actually found Philip Wesley. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Philip Wesley grew up in a middle class household heavily involved in sports both soccer and football. An avid fan of music during his youth, Philip surprisingly did not begin playing music until the age of 16 when he received his first guitar as a Christmas present. Enraptured by rock music, Philip dove headlong into independent study. He taught himself to read and write guitar tablature, then poured over guitar books, learned songs note for note, and perfected blistering guitar solos. When Philip entered college a few years later, he decided to major in Music Therapy. During his studies of music and music theory, he was serendipitously introduced to the solo piano music of David Lanz and was instantly mesmerized by it. At the tender age of 20, Philip began his long relationship with the piano. Once again, Philip poured over music books, this time… the piano. “People hear that I didn’t start playing the piano until age 20 and they are almost always amazed. I tell people that it’s not too late to learn something new. When you have the drive, the passion, the dedication and the curiosity to learn something, new doors will open for you.”