Born in 1970 Mountford started studying the electronic organ at 10 and grew up on the stage performing at various theatres in the Midlands. After graduating in Computer Science he became a software engineer all the while continuing to perform as a keyboard and vocalist.
In 2004 he turned to his real passion and began writing music for short films, including Norman Wisdom’s last film ‘Espresso’. Going on to compose for feature films and in 2013 he scored the soundtrack to the British crime film ‘Vendetta’ which was the most successful non-theatrical DVD release of the year and has since scored several films including Journey To Le Mans (Patrick Stewart) and Breakdown (Craig Fairbrass). He continues to compose for theatre, cinema, adverts, television and film.
In 2008 Phil formed the five piece crossover classical ensemble, Fordante, to focus on performing his own original musical works. Arts Council England have four times supported his group which has seen them perform their light and entertaining take on popular classical repertoire and movie music, along with his original works, throughout England.
2016 was Mountford’s first foray into writing choral music having been commissioned to score a musical suite to commemorate World War 1. Armistice Day 2016 witnessed the premiere of ‘Suite For The Fallen Soldier’ with over 70 vocalists performing the 50 minute work to much critical acclaim.
In 2018 he was the Musical Director for a charity rock concert which also saw him return to the stage as a vocalist. The success of this project led Mountford to create his own 6 piece band, Forever Elton, paying homage to the music Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin, which has led to him touring theatres and venues throughout UK and Internationally.
In addition to this Phil Mountford regularly composes for adverts, film and theatre, which has led to several album releases.