Here are a few words of praise!

Glen Aldershaw, Colchester Gazette (Full review here) “I NEVER thought I would hear the music of Mike Oldfield played live. But here it was, in Colchester, and it was utterly brilliant. But this music should not remain unplayed and I am immensely grateful to composer Phil Toms that I was able to enjoy this wonderful evening. Twelve talented musicians, known collectively as Tubular Bells Live! playing very well chosen pieces from the huge Oldfield back catalogue. This band are just as good and could be just as big. It would be a travesty if this show did not tour.”

Mercury Theatre team: “Fantastic! Thanks to Phil and the team and of course to our lovely audience for their support!  #MercuryRising”

Tubular Bells Live (2017) – international audience members:

“Saw TB Live on Sat, absolutely brilliant! Never thought I would hear MO’s music live. Return to O was superb! You must tour!”

“Congratulations, it was a fabulous performance!”

“I thought it was good last time, but this was even better. Thanks and well done to you and all the musicians.”

“Congratulations! A lot of hard work and a fabulous amount of money raised!”

“You’re an inspiration mate!”

“The excerpt of Return to Ommadawn was exceptionally well done”

“What a great weekend in Colchester. So much Mike Oldfield. So many great friends. Hope we can do it all again soon.”

“What a fab show by the most excellent Phil Toms and band. Great set list too!”

“Superb evening so much enthusiasm and hard work paid off”

“What an incredible experience your concert was – it was amazing. My brothers were big Oldfield fans but I wasn’t so hadn’t a clue as to what I was letting myself in for! I’m hooked now. Congratulations”

Judy Dyble –  Fairport Convention – “Phil Toms has created beautiful, beautiful arrangements for my forthcoming album Flow and Change. Not only were they exactly as I imagined they would be but he understood all the secret and unspoken meanings and references within the songs and created such sensitive music that cradled but didn’t smother the songs. Not only that but he is a very charming man.”

Steve Bingham – Professional Violinist / Bingham Quartet / Ely Sinfonia – “For many years now Phil Toms has been providing me with superb arrangements of everything from Norwegian folk tunes to Bob Dylan covers! The quality of his arrangements, and the speed with which he can produce them, is unbeatable.” &  “Phil Toms’s arrangement is perfect – as usual!!” (Our cover of Get Lucky by Daft Punk)

Jon Anderson – Yes – “It’s going to be great… Love what you’re doing…”

Tom Newman, Producer of Tubular Bells – (re Tubular Bells Live 2015) “This has been a wonderful event and bless you, Phil Toms, because by God, without him, nothing would have happened. Phil Toms! Yeah!… Well done Phil Toms! Well done!”

Anna Pancaldi – Singer-Songwriter – “Thank you so much Phil, for the most beautiful string arrangements. You made my songs come alive like never before.”

Adam Grant (TooManyBlogs) re Anna Pancaldi EP launch (London 2017) “Anna drafted in a full band for the London show that included a string section, making the whole performance that little bit more emotive.”

Bob & Barn – Film Composers, on arranging string parts from Logic into Sibelius for recording sessions – “Phil, sterling work fella, bowled over by how quickly you’ve produced the scores. Thank you SO much for all of your hard work, it’s going to really transform these tracks. Great work, both Bob and I were most impressed.”

Prog Magazine (Stephen Dalton) Eppyfest 2016 Review – “Backed by a tight band that includes two keyboard players… behind [Judy Dyble’s] impeccably English reserve, there’s grace and darkness and a quiet emotional force in melancholy confessionals like Silence and the Crimson classic I Talk To The Wind, all arranged and delivered with a watchmaker’s precision.”

Michael Gray, Reviewer, “Wonderfully wide-ranging medleys of musical-theatre melodies, ingeniously arranged by Phil Toms, for the Overture and the Entr’acte.” (WOW 20th Anniversary Concert 2016)

Alistair Murphy (The Curator) – Producer / Singer-Songwriter – “George Martin, Robert Kirby, Tony Visconti and now….Phil Toms”

Jeremy Harmer – Singer-Songwriter / ELT consultant- “You ask Phil for something and he ‘gets’ it instantly – and then gives you a way of doing it that you would have never thought of. That’s great arranging for you, and for his ability to turn base metal into gold I will always be grateful.”

Peter Appleyard – Singer-Songwriter – “A fantastic arrangement! The strings sound incredible. Totally breathtaking!!! Such great work guys. Really loving the trills and the swooping runs – perfect. Such beautiful harmonies too. Thank you so much for making this happen.”

Mad Hatter Productions, Colchester (Director & cast members of Urinetown) – “Tonight’s show hit the absolute roof. So proud of the crazy energy from the cast and a special shout out for the absolute hero that is Phil Toms for [conducting and] playing piano for the show with only 15 minutes notice!!” “Big up respect and thanks to Phil Toms for saving the show tonight” “Hero!!” “Absolute Legend!!!”

Paul T. Davies, Arts Reviewer – “Phil Toms is an absolute complete LEGEND!!!”

WAOS, Sweeney Todd (2010) – Ann Paton, Reviewer – “Very strong difficult chorus work ably led by Phil Toms and an orchestra which was balanced very well with the voices. The orchestra’s scores must also have been very demanding but were very well played throughout the production.”

David Brown – A Light Left On – “You’re an absolute legend dude – that sounds amazing :-)”

Jonathan Turner, Colchester Hospital Radio – “That was brilliant. I really enjoyed that. The strings on that are fantastic!”

Steph Masucci – Singer-Songwriter – “Phil has not only produced a beautiful string arrangement for me but is always professional, prompt and a lovely person to work with whatever the project. He is highly skilled and I would recommend his composition and arrangement to anyone.”

SJ Mortimer – Singer-Songwriter – “Beautiful arrangement and playing. I will definitely be getting some more strings involved in my next EP! The highlight has to be the string quartet, we thought maybe just have the strings by themselves they were so beautiful… many thanks to those very talented musicians who came in – it definitely brought the songs to life!”

Piers Mortimer – Producer, Headline Studios, Cambridge – “Thanks so much for the great scores…. They sound amazing!”

Jez Rowden – Dutch Progressive Rock Page – “The string arrangements are what really sets this album a cut above and huge amounts of credit for the end result should go to Phil Toms, Steve Bingham and The Ely Sinfonia.”

Degree Student – Colchester Institute – “Your passion for music is infectious and inspiring!”

Lisa & Patrick – “Thank you so much for playing at our wedding yesterday! It was totally beautiful and all I can hear is the music I walked in to playing all day long. We received so many compliments on your playing and everyone said it was a such a lovely touch, especially during the wedding breakfast. We never once had to even think about the music as we trusted you had it covered, and you most certainly did! You really added something special to the day and we can’t thank you enough!”