Dr George McPhee was appointed as Director of Music at Paisley Abbey in 1963 and has now served the Abbey in this capacity for nearly 60 years. Under his leadership the choir has flourished and the Abbey has become renowned for its music, with a wide range of concerts taking place as well as a strong choral tradition in the Sunday services.

Dr McPhee has been in frequent demand as an organ recitalist and has broadcast and recorded frequently from the Abbey, both as solo organist and as conductor of the Abbey Choir. He has also given recitals in many parts of Europe, the United States and Canada. Apart from the Abbey Choir, he has been conductor of the Scottish Chamber Choir and the Kilmarnock and District Choral Union. As a composer and arranger, he has many published works, both sacred and secular, and many of these were written specifically for use within the context of the Abbey services.

In 1991 Dr McPhee was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music in recognition of his services to church music in Scotland and in 1995 he was awarded MBE.  In July 1997 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of Paisley. He is also a Vice President of the Royal College of Organists, and has recently been made an Honorary Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians.

From 1963 to 2001 he was on the staff of the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), where he became a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Academic Studies and Director of Choral Activities as well as having responsibilities for teaching organ. He is currently Visiting Professor of Organ at St Andrews University.

For further information about Dr McPhee’s forthcoming recitals and a full list of recordings, see www.georgemcphee.co.u6