David Murphy, conductor Born in Pembrokeshire on the west coast of Wales, David began his musical studies as a violinist, as a result of free instrumental lessons at his local school. Within a few months of study he had won a local music competition and was subsequently awarded a full scholarship to the renowned specialist school, the Purcell School. David went on to win a host of competitions and prizes whilst at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied violin, viola and chamber music with members of the Amadeus Quartet and in masterclasses with Sir Yehudi Menuhin, sparking his interest in yoga and Indian music. During this time, David performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout Britain and Europe and also studied baroque and classical violin with Catherine Mackintosh. His conducting debut occurred at a moment’s notice: a conductor was suddenly indisposed and David was the only member of the orchestra with a baton in his case. The experience was a revelation and prompted the decision to undertake serious conducting study. A Welsh Arts Council Scholarship for Advanced Studies in Music followed, which enabled him to study conducting with Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood. He completed his studies with Leon Barzin in Paris. David had the great privilege to be Barzin’s last student, living and studying intensively with him during the summers the maestro spent in Europe from 1993 until his death in 1999. Through this relationship he is fortunate enough to have a direct link to the great conductors of the early Twentieth Century, notably both Toscanini and Furtwängler: a unique training for a conductor of his generation. Two other legendary mentors were subsequently central to his development as a musician: the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras and the sitar maestro and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar. David’s music-making contains a unique blend of these very potent influences: from Barzin the musical philosophy and techniques of the “golden age” of conducting, from Sir Charles Mackerras cutting-edge interpretation and scholarship, and from Pandit Ravi Shankar the advanced pitch and rhythmic techniques, spontaneous creativity and spiritual perspective of Indian music.
David’s studies and performances with Ravi Shankar, plus work with other leading Indian musicians have resulted in several world premieres. Having been supported by Arts Council England, he is currently at the forefront of the development of a new “Indo-Classic” musical genre which aims to tap into the common roots of both Indian and Western music. His collaborations with the legendary Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan have been wonderful creative adventures which are particularly dear to him. A popular guest-conductor, David has performed on four continents. His debut in South Africa was televised on SABC, and this has led to a series of engagements with the South African Orchestras, from Beethoven Symphonies with the Johannesburg and Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestras to outreach work with children and choirs from the Townships. He recently conducted a highly successful run of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at the Longborough Festival, and made his Far-Eastern debut, performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, in a performance that was broadcast on both Korean and Japanese television. He recently toured Russia and Poland conducting the London Chamber Players in sell out concerts in St Petersburg Conservatoire, Tchaikovsky Hall, and the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatoire and, at the climax of a recent Spanish tour at the Auditorio Nacionale in Madrid. His critically acclaimed Royal Festival Hall debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra included Janáček’s Sinfonietta and Sibelius’s 2nd Symphony. He was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.