photo of Barry Phillips and William Coulter
Tree of Life - Artists' Biographies


Barry Phillips (cello, mandolins, harpsichord and psaltry) received his M.M. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has been active in film composition, orchestration and conducting and is a woodworking fanatic as time allows. He has served in various capacities including performer, arranger and producer for numerous Gourd recordings including Simple Gifts, The Fairie Round, The World Turned Upside Down, Tree Of Life, Autumn in the Valley, Wondrous Love and Pavane.

Guitarist William Coulter has been recording and performing traditional music since 1981. His current passion is arranging and singing songs from the Irish Gaelic song tradition. He performs solo and in ensembles, and is preparing two books of guitar arrangements for Mel Bay. William is featured on several Gourd recordings including Celtic Crossing, Simple Gifts and Orison. He received his MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

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