Otis Murphy
Saxophone
Born in 1972, Otis Murphy joined the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2001 at the age of 28, becoming one of the youngest faculty members in its history. Mr. Murphy 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. He 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. His saxophone teachers include Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Eugene Rousseau, and Kenneth Fischer. Mr. Murphy has received numerous awards that include prizes in the Saint Louis Symphony Young Artist Competition and the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition in the United States, the Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition in Belgium, and the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in France. Since joining the faculty at Indiana University, Mr. Murphy’s saxophone students have won national awards as soloists and as chamber musicians, have performed as members of military bands, and have held positions as college and university teachers.
Mr. Murphy is in great demand as an international soloist and clinician in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and the United States. He has appeared as a concerto soloist at the Ravenna Music Festival in Italy; as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; had appearances at the 12th and 13th World Saxophone Congresses in Montreal, Quebec, and Minneapolis, Minnesota; performed as guest soloist with the U.S. Navy Band at the 26th Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium in Washington, D.C. and as invited soloist at the 7th British Saxophone Congress in Wales, the Frankfurt International Classical Saxophone Festival in Germany, the Taiwan Saxophone Summer Camp, the New England Saxophone Symposium, and the Faenza International Saxophone Festival of Italy. Since 2005, Mr. Murphy has been a member of the artist/faculty of the Hamamatsu International Wind & Percussion Academy in Japan and has enjoyed a special relationship with several concert series such as the World Children’s Fund in Japan and the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago. Mr. Murphy performs actively with wind ensembles and orchestras throughout the world, having appeared e.g., as guest soloist with the Bands of America National Honors Concert Band. In 2006, Mr. Murphy joined conductor Ray Cramer in Japan with the Musashino Academia Musicae Wind Ensemble as saxophone soloist for their concert tour that included notable performances in Japan’s Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and the Isaac Stern Concert Hall in Miyazaki; and in 2007, he joined the Tokyo Sinfonia string orchestra of Japan as guest soloist. Recently, Mr. Murphy was awarded the S & R Foundation’s 2008 Washington Award and its special Ambassador Award in recognition of his contributions to Japanese and American cultural understanding.
Numerous full page and cover articles have been written about Mr. Murphy’s career that include the Saxophone Journal, the United Kingdom’s Clarinet and Saxophone magazine, and Japan’s Pipers, Band Journal, and The Sax magazines. His most recent solo compact disc, Fantasy, has received critical acclaim. In addition to his career as a performer and teacher, Mr. Murphy acts as a consultant in the research and development of Yamaha saxophones. Mr. Murphy is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Vandoren Performing Artist, and he is on the artist roster of the Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates.
