Otis Murphy, Saxophone

Biography

Born in 1972, Otis Murphy joined the
faculty of the Indiana University School of Music in 2001 at the age of
28, becoming one of the youngest faculty members in the history of the
IU School of Music. His primary teachers include Jean-Yves Fourmeau,
Eugene Rousseau, and Kenneth Fischer. Murphy holds the Prix de Pertectionnement (by
a unanimous decision of the jury) from the Conservatoire National
Regional de Musique, Cergy-Pontoise, France; the Master of Music degree
from Indiana University, 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. Murphy has won numerous awards and prizes
that include 2nd Prize in the Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition (1998) in Belgium, 3rd Prize in the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition (1996) in France, 1st Prize in the Heida Hermanns Young Artist Competition, 2nd Prize in the Saint Louis Symphony Young Artist Competition, and the J. William Fulbright Grant that allowed saxophone study in France.

Otis Murphy is an active saxophone
soloist and clinician who is in great demand throughout the world. In
addition to his frequent solo appearances throughout the United States,
he has also performed and given saxophone classes in France,
Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Belgium, and
Italy. Murphy has appeared at some of the most prestigious saxophone
events in the world, performing as an invited soloist at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Quebec; a guest soloist with the U.S. Navy Band at the 26th Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium in Washington, D.C.; an invited soloist at the 7th British Saxophone Congress in Wales and at the 2003 New England Saxophone Symposium; and as a professor at the 2003 Faenza International Saxophone Chamber Music Festival of
Italy. Murphy makes frequent appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra and performs actively with wind ensembles and orchestras
throughout the world. Murphy is scheduled to make his solo debut with
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra during the 2004-2005 season,
performing Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. Otis has been the featured artist in numerous publications that include Saxophone Journal. Yamaha's Backstage Pass, the United Kingdom's Clarinet and Saxophone magazine, Japan's Pipers magazine for wind players, and on the front cover of The Sax. Japan's leading saxophone magazine. Memories of Dinant, Murphy's debut compact disc recording with his wife, Haruko, on piano, has received critical acclaim.