Schedule
September
15, 2024 – Otis Murphy, saxophone
soloist @ Seventh-day Adventist Church, 26625 Crestview Drive, Richland Center,
WI
Otis Murphy:
September 15, 2024
Otis Murphy
holds the position of Professor of Saxophone and Chair of Woodwinds in the
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, joining the faculty at the age of
twenty-eight and becoming one of the youngest faculty members in its history.
He is in great demand as an international soloist and clinician, having
performed in more than twenty countries worldwide across four continents: North
America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Dr. Murphy was
a prizewinner in the Adolphe Sax International
Saxophone Competition of Belgium and the Jean-Marie Londeix
International Saxophone Competition in France and has performed in venues
including Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Merkin
Hall (New York City), Casals Hall (Tokyo); Palau de la Musica
(Valencia); and Muziekgebouw aan
het Ij (Amsterdam). Dr. Murphy has performed on more
than fifteen recordings, including four solo albums receiving critical acclaim.
He performed Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Quintet for Alto
Saxophone and String Quartet with Pacifica Quartet on their album, Contemporary
Voices, winning the GRAMMY Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble
Performance.
Dr. Murphy
has taught at music schools and festivals worldwide including the Paris
Conservatory, Amsterdam Conservatory, Cologne Academy of Music, Hamamatsu
International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival, London Royal College of
Music and many more, and his students have received awards and have careers as
performers, educators, and members of premier military concert bands. Dr.
Murphy holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Indiana
University Jacobs School of Music, receiving the Performer’s Certificate
accolade, and he studied in France under a Fulbright Fellowship at the
Conservatoire National Régional de Musique in Cergy-Pontoise,
earning the Prix de Perfectionnement à l’unanimité. Dr. Murphy and his wife, pianist Haruko Murphy, live in Bloomington, Indiana, and are
dedicated parents of their six children.
Above text
from https://www.yamaha.com/artists/otismurphy.html
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Fanfare
Magazine writes, “Immediately upon hearing Murphy, one is struck by the
extraordinarily golden tone he produces on his instrument. . . . Murphy’s ease, fluidity and perfect blending
of registers on his instrument is extraordinary, as is
his phrasing.” Chicago Tribune states,
“Murphy’s playing is bright, alert . . . always with a polish and sensitivity
that make the most of the music.”
Indianapolis Star declares, “Murphy played with the sweetest tone
imaginable.” International French
saxophonist Jean-Yves Fourmeau voices, “Otis Murphy
is an exceptional artist, possessing an extraordinary musical sense combined
with a stunning technique.” Saxophone
Journal writes, “Otis Murphy’s tone is superb, warm, supple, and intense. . .
. He has the ability to phrase the music
so that it takes on a life of its own, making the music weave into musical
stories that enliven the listener’s imagination.” And Japan’s The Sax writes, “Otis Murphy’s
performance made every saxophonist in attendance reconsider his or her
awareness of what is a beautiful saxophone sound.”
Dr. Murphy
holds the position of Professor of Saxophone in the Indiana University Jacobs
School of Music, joining the faculty at the age of 28 and becoming one of the
youngest faculty members in its history.
He is in great demand as an international soloist and clinician, having
gained wide recognition on four continents: North America (United States and
Canada), Europe (Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and Wales), Asia
(Japan, Singapore and Taiwan), and Australia.
He has performed in some of the great concert halls of the world
including Casals Hall in Tokyo; Merkin Concert Hall
in New York City; Palau de la Musica in Valencia,
Spain; the Strathmore in Washington, D. C.; Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo;
Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain; Phoenix Hall in
Osaka; and Isaac Stern Concert Hall in Miyazaki, Japan. He also has presented saxophone classes and
appeared as a guest professor at such prestigious music schools and festivals
as the Amsterdam Conservatory, Anton-Bruckner-Privatuniversität,
the British Saxophone Congress, College Band Directors National Association
(CBNA) Conference, Cologne Academy of Music, the Frankfurt International
Classical Saxophone Festival, Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy
and Festival, the Japan Band Clinic, Institut Franz
Schubert, Kunitachi College of Music, Liceu de Barcelona, Madrid Royal Conservatory, the Midwest
Clinic, Musashino Academy of Music, Osaka College of
Music, the Ravenna Music Festival, London Royal College of Music, Royal
Northern College of Music, Sydney Conservatorium, the World Saxophone Congress,
and many more. As a soloist, Dr. Murphy
has been a guest soloist with ensembles that include the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, Tokyo Sinfonia, Flint Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, Bruno
Moderna Chamber Orchestra, Musashino
Wind Ensemble, the United States Navy Band, and the Yamaha Symphonic Band.
Dr. Murphy
has garnered a number of awards included prizes in Belgium’s Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition, the
Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone
Competition in France, and the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition in the United
States. He has enjoyed a close
relationship over the years with Japan, in particular, having been invited
annually since 2001 to present master classes and concerts and having been a
member of the artist/faculty of the Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument
Academy since 2005. Dr. Murphy was
awarded the S & R Foundation’s Washington Award and its special Ambassador
Award (which the S & R Foundation created especially for Dr. Murphy) in
recognition of his contributions to Japanese and American understanding. In addition, he acts a consultant in the
research and development of Yamaha saxophones.
He has released some fifteen recordings including four solo compact
discs which have all received critical acclaim.
In addition, he has appeared in publications that include Saxophone
Journal in the United States, Vandoren Magazine in
France, Japan’s Band Journal, Pipers and The Sax magazines, Clarinet and
Saxophone Society Journal in the United Kingdom, and Dolomiten
Magazin in Italy.
Dr. Murphy’s
students have received numerous accolades including Grand Prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, 1st Prize in
the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, 1st Prize in the inaugural International
Saxophone Symposium and Competition (ISSAC), 1st Prize in the Heida Hermanns International
Woodwind Competition, 1st Prize in the Arriaga Chamber Music Competition, 3rd
Prize in the Gaudeamus International Contemporary
Music Competition (Netherlands), and 1st Prize in the William Byrd Young Artist
Competition, among several other awards.
In addition, they hold significant professional teaching posts including
college teaching positions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City,
California State University Long Beach, Miami University (Ohio), the University
of Louisville, DePauw University (Indiana), Augustana
College (Illinois), Northern Ohio University, Southern Arkansas University, the
Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.
They also have won positions in premier military concert bands including
positions in the United States Army “Pershing’s Own” Ceremonial Band, the U.S.
Navy Concert Band, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the U. S. Army Field Band, the U.
S. Naval Academy Band, and the U. S. Army West Point Band.
Dr. Murphy
holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music, graduating with the Performer’s Certificate, the
highest honor given to a performer at this institution; and the Bachelor of
Music Education degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude, from the University of
Georgia. In addition, he pursued
advanced studies in France under a Fulbright Fellowship for foreign study at
the Conservatoire National Régional de Musique in Cergy-Pontoise,
earning the Prix de Perfectionnement by a unanimous
decision of the jury. His saxophone
teachers include Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Eugene Rousseau,
and Kenneth Fischer. Dr. Murphy is a
Yamaha Performing Artist and a D’Addario Performing
Artist and member of D’Addario’s Musician’s Advisory
Board. He is a founding member and
soprano saxophonist in Solaire Saxophone
Quartet. Otis Murphy resides in
Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, Haruko, and their
six children.
Photos and
text from http://www.otismurphy.com
Copyright © 2024 Richland Concert Association
Last
update 06/07/2024
