Philippe Escayola Biography

The son of a Spanish father and a Greek mother, Philippe was born and raised with a very European influence in Ottawa, Ontario. Although the legend reports he would play his mother's lullabies on the piano with one finger while still in diapers, Philippe formally began studying piano at the age of seven with Noëlla T. Vaillancourt. Attending De La Salle High School the only French-Canadian high school outside Québec to offer art disciplines such as drama, dance, visual arts and music - Philippe studied cello, music theory and vocals. During this time, he was in both the De La Salle Choir and the Ottawa-Carleton Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (La Philharmonie des Jeunes d'Ottawa-Carleton).

Philippe attended Ottawa University majoring in Music Composition, minor in piano with the late professor Douglas Voice, and vocals with the Calixa Lavallée Ensemble as well as the University of Ottawa Choir, both under the direction of world renowned Laurence Ewashko. In 2001, Philippe moved to Toronto, Ontario, to further his artistic career.

Since 2004, Philippe produced and performed a series of shows at various piano bars and restaurants around Toronto, such as Church Street’s unique piano bar Statlers , Cabbagetown’s The Ben Wicks bar and bistro , Kensington Market’s Bread And Circus , as well as the defunct piano bar The Mask. He represented Toronto EMS singing the American and Canadian national anthems in front of thousands of Toronto Blue Jay’s fans at the Rogers Centre as well as at the international APCO conference in 2006.

Philippe is also actively involved in various charities and community organizations of Toronto such as performing and being musical director for the fundraising series Singing Strong (also known as Cabaret For a Cause) at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre ; a member and performer for FrancoQueer ; as well as performing in a fundraising event for Fife House .

Philippe is always producing and performing new shows – solo, with other singers, or with his group The Big Beat Band. He is currently writing and recording a follow-up to his “Pour Vous Deux” debut studio session. Future shows of his own at various Toronto piano bars as well as more charity events and fundraisers are also to be expected.