OTIS MURPHY

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.