Otis Murphy is professor of music in saxophone and chair of the Woodwinds Department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, joining the faculty at age 28 and becoming one of the youngest faculty members in its history. He is in great demand as an international soloist and clinician, having performed in more than 20 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Murphy was a prizewinner in the Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition of Belgium and the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in France and has performed in venues including Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, Merkin Hall (New York City), Casals Hall (Tokyo), Palau de la Musica (Valencia), and Muziekgebouw aan het Ij (Amsterdam).
He has performed on more than 15 recordings, including four solo albums receiving critical acclaim. He performed Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet with the Pacifica Quartet on its album Contemporary Voices, which won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
Murphy has taught at music schools and festivals worldwide, including the Paris Conservatory, Amsterdam Conservatory, Cologne Academy of Music, Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival, London Royal College of Music, and many more. His students have received numerous awards and enjoy careers as performers, educators, and members of premier military concert bands.
Murphy holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Jacobs School of Music, earning the Performer’s Certificate accolade, and he studied in France under a Fulbright Fellowship at the Conservatoire National Régional de Musique in Cergy-Pontoise, earning the Prix de Perfectionnement à l’unanimité.
He and his wife, pianist Haruko Murphy, live in Bloomington, Indiana, and are dedicated parents of their six children.
