Joel Phillips is Professor of Composition and Music Theory at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he has taught since 1985. His music has received awards in the G. Schirmer Young Americans Choral Competition, the Ithaca College Choral Competition, the Vincent Brown Silliman Anthem Award, and from both ASCAP and BMI.

Phillips was composer-in-residence for the New Music Festivals at Drake University and Plymouth State University, was Composer of the Year for the New Jersey Chapter of the MTNA, and was a featured artist in the New Jersey Young Composer's Festival. Phillips' works are published by G. Schirmer, Inc., Transcontinental Music Publications, GIA Publications, Inc., and Mark Foster Music (Shawnee Press).

A member of the editorial review board of the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, Phillips served for five years as Chief Faculty Consultant for the Advanced Placement Examination in Music Theory. His two-volume textbook, The Musician’s Guide to Aural Skills, co-authored by Jane Clendinning (Florida State University) and Elizabeth West Marvin (Eastman School of Music), is published by W. W. Norton and Company. Their new textbook, The Musician’s Guide to Fundamentals, is forthcoming from W. W. Norton and Company.