Kelly-Marie Murphy, composer – Official website (original) (raw)

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(Kitchener-Waterloo Record)

“imaginative and expressive”

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“a pulse-pounding barrage on the senses”

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"an exciting and imaginative composer, much in demand especially in her native Canada and deservedly so"

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Kelly-Marie Murphy’s compositional voice is well known on the Canadian music scene. She has created a number of memorable works for some of Canada’s leading performers and ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Gryphon Trio, James Campbell, Shauna Rolston, the Cecilia and Afiara String Quartets, and Judy Loman.

Dr. Murphy’s music has been performed around the world by outstanding soloists and ensembles, and has had radio broadcasts in over 22 countries. Her music has been interpreted by renowned conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, David Brophy, Bramwell Tovey, and Mario Bernardi. Her music has been heard in iconic concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall in New York, The Mozarteum in Salzburg, and The National Concert Hall in Dublin.

Recent, Current and Upcoming

PROJECTS

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CURRENT

PERFORMANCES & EVENTS

Sächsischer Orchesterwettbewerb 2025- Orchestra Competition

Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra

Major Canadian Orchestras Feature Murphy’s Work on New Albums

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) have both included works by Kelly Marie Murphy on their new album releases.

NACO’s new album Poema is the first in four-part series exploring tone poems by Richard Strauss, and features NAC-commissioned companion pieces by Kelly-Marie Murphy and Kevin Lau. In Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe, Murphy responds to Strauss by examining other notable events that occurred while he was writing Don Juan. Release date: January 17, 2025. Learn more

TSO’s Pulcinella recording includes Murphy’s Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark, which was commissioned by the TSO and performed in 2024.
Release date: February 14, 2025. Learn more

Press

“The scintillating piece [_Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe_] makes good use of instruments like the harp, vibraphone, windchimes, flute and solo violin to evoke the shining stars, whereas large tuttis plunge the listener into the dark vastness of the universe. The assembled orchestral masses were impressive both in the subtle and in the large passages.”
– By Béatrice Cadrin on Ludwig-van.com, March 1, 2024

“The piece [_Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark_] is marked by an air of breezy discovery, dotted with biting rhythms that undercut dense chords from the strings and brass. There was a fullness to the orchestra’s sound in these sections, propelled forward by unrelenting syncopations and fiery rips of plucked notes by the double basses, thrilling both aurally and visually.”
– By Joshua Chong, Culture Reporter, Toronto Star, May 8, 2024

Kelly-Marie Murphy 2018 AMP Gala Concert with Yoav Talmi
(Photo: Danylo Bobyk)