Phillip MAGNUSON

MAGNUSON, Phillip

Phillip Magnuson, aged 72 passed away August 8, 2021, in Dayton, Ohio. He was an intensely thoughtful father, grandfather, musician, academic and collector. He was passionate about cinema, good food, a well-crafted pun, genealogy and history. Born in Columbus and raised in Toledo, Phillip was an active member of the Dayton music community as a performer, conductor, teacher and composer. He played with the

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Bach Society, Dayton Opera Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony (as principal viola) in addition to numerous chamber music groups. He was a constant presence in many local educational environments as a teacher in the Dayton Public Schools, a leader in the Springfield Symphony Orchestra outreach programs, a

private viola teacher and as a longtime member of the University of Dayton community where he was a professor of music theory, composition and viola for more than 35 years.

Phillip held degrees from Duke University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as a doctorate from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a member of Phi

Beta Kappa and studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He was a lifelong academic and he cherished being both a student and teacher. A lover of Italian culture, Phillip also led several student groups at the UD summer study

programs in Rome. During his professorship he was an early adopter of the use of online tools in education and he took great pride in authoring an online music theory textbook which he used to teach his university students.

As a conductor, he held posts leading the University of Dayton Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as several other regional orchestras and he spent decades coaching hundreds of orchestral viola students and innumerable student chamber groups.

A prolific composer of published and commissioned solo, chamber, operatic and orchestral works, he won composition awards from Duke University, the National Federation of

Music Clubs, Broadcast Music Inc., the Cornish Institute, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1989 Young Composers Competition winner). His compositions were frequently paired or based on literary passages that provided endless inspiration for his work.

Phillip is survived by his three children Elizabeth (Brandon), Samuel (Kim) and Benjamin (Emily), five grandchildren Noah, Madison, Harper, Graham and Charlotte and his brother

Michael (Diane), niece Amy and nephew Carl. He was preceded in death by his parents Richard William and Suzanne Dueber Magnuson.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a scholarship gift to the University of Dayton music department:

www.givecampus.com/campaigns/7956/donations

Care entrusted to Schlientz and Moore Funeral Home.

Condolences and fond memories may be shared at

www.DaytonFunerals.com