About Philip
Maneval

Philip Maneval has composed over 100 solo, vocal, chamber music, and orchestral works. He has led seminars for students at the Curtis Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Rowen University, and elsewhere; he has given talks on music and the field; and he has written a book, “Uniting the Heart and the Mind: Lessons in Music Composition.”

Philip’s music has been performed by principal chair members of the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh symphonies; the Miami, Daedalus, and Chicago string quartets; the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; pianists Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Cynthia Raim, and Marcantonio Barone; harpist Yolanda Kondonassis; the Cavatina, Mannes, Merz, and Saguaro piano trios; the East Coast Chamber Orchestra; the late Felix Galimir and Siegfried Palm; and artists at the Marlboro Music Festival. His Violin Concerto was premiered in Romania by Liliana Ciulei and Bucharest’s Enescu Philharmonic.

Philip has also gained broad recognition for his roles in arts administration. He spent four decades working at the world-renowned Marlboro Music School and Festival, retiring recently as its Administrator. In this role, he managed this institution and community that is acclaimed for its leadership role in advanced training in classical music. He supported the vision and goals of artistic directors Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss; and worked closely with staff colleagues, officers, and trustees to maintain Marlboro’s unique mission, high standards, and stability.

In 1986, Philip joined with Anthony Checchia in founding the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society (PCMS). For four decades, as Executive Director, he, Tony, and Artistic Director, Miles Cohen, led this organization that is among the world’s largest music presenting forums, with more than 100 annual concerts and outreach programs. Since its inception, PCMS has been devoted to the highest standards; to being welcoming and inclusive, with affordable ticket pricing that enables all audiences to enjoy great music-making; and to supporting composers and new music, with over 100 commissions and 130 world premieres.

In 2023, Philip received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, America’s oldest continuing musical organization. He has served as a trustee for Network for New Music, the Lyra Society, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and other nonprofits, and he has advised arts organizations and funding institutions.

Philip was raised in the New York suburb of Leonia, New Jersey, where, in addition to his composing, he played French horn, and keyboard in a popular music band, and created arrangements and background music for musical theater and radio. He received an M.A. degree (terminal) from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with Richard Wernick, George Crumb, and George Rochberg; and an undergraduate degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied composition with Walter Aschaffenburg, and musicology, conducting, philosophy, and liberal arts.

Philip is married to Wendy Maneval, a prominent health care attorney, and they have two children, Jeffrey Maneval and Sarah Maneval. Today, Philip and Wendy live in an 1815 farm house that they restored on the site of a former tidal mill in Westport Island, in mid-coast Maine. It is an ideal location for intensive composing, with the inspiration of the sea and the beautiful, peaceful natural surroundings.