Michael F. Murray

Professor of Music - Composition and Theory

DMA, MM, University of Cincinnati;  BM, Catholic University

Department of Music
Missouri State University
901 S. National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897

Office: Ellis 102
Phone: (417)836-4250

E-mail: MikeMurray@MissouriState.edu

Recent and upcoming performances:

Nurse's Song

This choral work was commissioned by the music frtaernities of Missouri State University in memory of Pearl Yeadon, and will be premiered by the Interfraternal Choir at MSU on April 12, 2008.

Nether Music

This new string trio for viola, cello, and bass was composed for Beth Trower, Peter Rho, and Sarah Camey. These performers premeiered the first two movements at the 2008 Missouri State University Composition Festival (guest composer David Gillingham) on March 11, 2008.

Fantasia Concertante on Old American Tunes

This work for solo viola, piano, and string orchestra was written during my sabbatical in Fall, 2004. This work will be performed by the Chamber Orchestra of the Ozarks with Kathy Murray and Peter Collins as soloists on April 27, 2008 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Springfield.

Four Songs of Solomon

This work for tenor voice and orchestra is based on texts from the biblical Song of Songs. The first two movements were given their premiere performance at the 2007 MSU Composition Festival (guest composer David Amram) featuring Andrew Childs, tenor, and the MSU Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Quebbeman.

The Merchant of Venice

Incidental music and sound design for the MSU Department of Theatre & Dance production, October 31-November 2, 2005 in Coger Theater on the MSU campus. Excerpts were featured at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial International Competitive Exhibition of Scenography and Theatre Architecture, June 14th – 24th, 2007 / Industrial Palace, Výstaviątě Exhibitions Grounds, Prague, Czech Republic.

Recent research projects:

Music Theory I-IV

This set of four textbooks for use in the typical four-semester undergraduate Music Theory sequence are published through McGraw-Hill's Primus custom publishing division. Review copies for adoption consideration are available by contacting McGraw-Hill Higher Education sales representative Tim Rutherford at Tim_Rutherford@mcgraw-hill.com

The Max Hunter Folksong Collection Preservation Project

This is a collection of nearly 1600 Ozarks folksongs recorded by Max Hunter during the 1950's - 1970's. The website contains links to individual song pages which consist of transcriptions and audio files of the original singers.

The traditional music of the Ozarks and its relationship to other musics has been the topic of several presentations I have given, including pre-concert lectures for The Chieftains, Arlo Guthrie and Family, and a lecture at the 2005 Amadeus Piano Festival in Tulsa.

I discussed the Hunter Collection as a panelist for the session, Access to Folklore Materials and Collections: Recent Projects in Indexing, Digitizing, and Cataloging at the national meeting of the American Folklore Society in Rochester, NY in October, 2002.

Several folk hymns from the Hunter Collection were featured in a paper I presented at the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the College Music Society. The paper, entitled Religious Song in Ozark Oral Tradition, was given at the Kansas City meeting on September 29, 2002.

Web ET

This is set of World Wide Web pages containing ear training exercises to assist students in the four-semester Freshman and Sophomore music theory sequence. (MUS 112, 114, 212, 214)

Biographical Information

Michael Murray holds degrees in composition from the Catholic University of America and the University of Cincinnati, where his teachers included Allen Sapp, Fred Bianchi, and Steven Strunk. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. He has won awards and grants from, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. In addition to works for the concert hall, he has written music for film, theater productions, dance, and visual arts installations. His intense interest in and work with traditional music of the Ozark region of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas has been subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) influencing his compositions for a number of years.

Dr. Murray has previously been on the faculties of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, and Loyola University New Orleans .

Professional memberships include ASCAP, Society of Composers, Inc., American Music Center, Society for Music Theory, College Music Society, and the Electronic Music Foundation.

List of works (with audio excerpts)

detail from Variance in a Box

Last Revised: 04/03/07
Comments: MikeMurray@MissouriState.edu