At an early age, he developed a sense of music and taught himself how to play the piano.
When he was about 8 years old, his parents got a 1910 upright piano, and he played all the time.
"I would play pieces from old hymn books and other music that was in the bench of the piano," he said.
He not only taught himself how to play music, but how to read it, too.
"I knew how it was supposed to sound and so most of the time I would just play until it sounded right," he said.
During his schooling, Philipsen took choir and music theory classes, but it wasn't until he turned 13 that he received lessons on how to play.
"I took lessons then until I graduated from high school," he said. "That helped me even more, with something that I was already interested in. I think music on some level appeals to just about everyone."
He was not interested in all instruments, mainly just the piano because with a piano you have to play the whole chord, not just notes. Playing the piano takes a lot of finger dexterity and hand-to-eye coordination.
"With a piano, you play the whole package at once and it comes together," he said. "It doesn't always come easy, but some things are not always easy."
He worked to master the techniques of playing and he is now a music instructor at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa. He has given several private lessons and taught dozens of students how to play. "I love giving the gift of music to others," he said.
He also studied vocal music in college and started at IHCC in 1985, as a vocal music instructor.
Philipsen has been a soloist with the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra and the Ottumwa Symphony Orchestra.
Last October, he directed several high school choirs at an Albia conference, conducting six schools and working with nearly 250 students at once.
In order to be a good musician, Philipsen said there are several things you have to do.
"You have to study your music selection, just like you would anything else. Music selection is crucial," he said. "You have to pick something that will challenge the students, but make it something they can master."
During his years teaching college, he said that each year is different and each of his groups are unique.
"Time is always an issue in teaching music," he said. "You have to know what you can accomplish in a designated time frame with the students you are working with."
One of his biggest challenges came this past fall when he was asked by the Appanoose County Historical Museum to compose a selection of songs to coincide with a silent movie the museum planned to show.
"It was about an hour-and-a-half of music that I tried to match to each scene in the movie," he said. "It was a very big challenge."
Philipsen said he feels fortunate to be able to get to do what he loves to do and get paid for it.
"There's no better feeling in the world than doing something you love," he said.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.
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