It is fitting that Phil Wilson should dedicate his life to education. Careers in education are a family tradition. His grandfather was the first headmaster of the Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Massachusetts, and his father taught at both Belmont Hill School and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Wilson began playing piano at age 5 and was writing arrangements by age 9. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, he studied at the New England Conservatory. He left to go on the road with the Dorsey Brothers Band, playing trombone and later piano. When he was drafted in 1960, Wilson soon became soloist and arranger for the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) band and studied at the Navy School of Music. Soon after his discharge, he became lead trombone player in Woody Herman's now-famous 1960's band lineup, playing on and contributing arrangements to nine Woody Herman albums.

Wilson joined the Berklee College of Music faculty in September 1965 and has been an active part of the evolution of Berklee into an internationally acclaimed institution. As part of Berklee's Trombone Department (which he chaired until 1974) and Brass Department (of which he is Professor), Wilson has been among the key faculty members who developed new approaches to brass technique. He has also made significant contributions to the arranging curriculum. Wilson also has directed clinics at Frankfurt Conservatory, Harvard University, Kansas State University, Mellon Arts Center, Sidney Conservatorium, University of California, and Yale University. He is the former chair of the jazz division at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music and a former member of the Board of Directors of the International Trombone Association.

Wilson has performed with Louis Armstrong, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman, Thad Jones, Clark Terry, as well as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Big Band (Germany), Hanover Radio Symphony Orchestra, Danish Radio Big Band, Metropole Orchestra (the Netherlands), and NDR Big Band (Hamburg, Germany). He has recorded for the Boston Pops, RCA, Polydor, Capri, Columbia, Famous Door, Freeform, Seaside, and SESAC. . Wilson appeared in November 2001 on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" on National Public Radio.

The Rainbow Band, formerly the International Dues Band, is one of the college's oldest and most prestigious ensembles. When Wilson formed the band in 1965, it began as one of many classroom ensembles at Berklee, giving students a chance to gain valuable ensemble experience. Comprised of students from all over the globe, the band earned a reputation as one of this country's top college groups performing contemporary jazz, appearing on national television and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1985, as the number of international students grew (it is now over 30%), Wilson changed the name to represent all the colors of the rainbow. Prominent Berklee alumni who were members of the band include: Cyrus Chestnut '85, Makoto Ozone '83, Ernie Watts '66, Terri Lyne Carrington '83, John Scofield '73, Bill Pierce '73, Abe Laboriel, Jr., '93 and Sr. '72, Joe Cohn '90, Richie Cole '67, Hal Crook '71, Christopher Hollyday ¹96, Tiger Okoshi '75, Art Barron '78, Roy Hargrove '89, Darren Barrett '90, George Garzone '72, Rob Mounsey '75, Claudio Roditi '70, and Manhattan Transfer arranger Dennis Wilson '74. Says Phil Wilson of his current Rainbow Band, "It's as strong as any band I've had in over 35 years."