Philip Czaplowski was born in London in 1958. His family emigrated to Australia in 1969, and he has lived in Melbourne ever since. A period of private study with Melbourne composer Felix Werder resulted in several of Philip's early chamber works being recorded and broadcast by the ABC.

Philip went on to study at both Melbourne and LaTrobe Universities. Philip's output remained small until about 1994, when he finally abandoned his love/hate relationship with what he describes as 'academic modernism', in order to write music in which he was better able to express himself. This entailed a return to more traditional musical values, and immediately paid dividends in terms of both quantity and quality.

Philip Czaplowski's recent works have been written for, or attracted the attention of, some of Australia's leading musicians. His 'Personae' for wind trio was written for the Australian Chamber Soloists, and premiered in 1996. September 1997 saw the composition of 'Monologue' for solo oboe, written for Jeffrey Crellin, and first performed at the National Academy of Music, Melbourne. This piece was also performed on 6th June 1998 by Australian oboist Linda Walsh, at the International Double Reed Society's conference in Arizona.

Philip Czaplowski's most successful piece to date is his 'Concerto for oboe and strings', which was written for Jeffrey Crellin, Principal Oboist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The premiere of the work took place in August 1997, with Jeffrey Crellin as soloist and conductor of the Australia Pro Arte. Since its first performance, the concerto has also been performed by the Geelong Chamber Orchestra; received 3 performances by the Melbourne Symphony in April 1998; and was performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in May 1998.

'Threnody' for string orchestra, a tribute to the composer's mother, was written for Australia Pro Arte and premiered in June 1998 with Jeffrey Crellin conducting. 'Elegies' for solo clarinet, written for Phillip Miechel, Principal Clarinettist of the MSO, was premiered in September 1998 during a concert by the Australian Chamber Soloists. Recently completed works include 'Innocence' for violin and piano, and 'The Rainbow Serpent' for solo flute.

Plans for 1999 and beyond include a flute concerto for Prudence Davis, Principal Flautist of the MSO, a trumpet concerto, and a piano trio.

In addition to numerous Australian performances, Philip Czaplowski's music has been performed in the USA, Holland, Germany, Argentina, and New Zealand.