Ryan Murphy
Ryan T. Murphy (born 1971), a native of Newtown, Connecticut, has been the associate music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since 27 March 2009, working with music director Mack Wilberg. He is an alumni of Brigham Young University (BYU) where he earned bachelor’s (1997) and master’s degrees (2002). While he was a student at BYU he served as an assistant to then BYU professor Wilburg. He received a doctorate in choral conducting from Boston University in 2009 which open the doors for opportunities to conduct in several local venues.
Murphy has a diverse musical background. By the age of 5 he was playing the piano. He was a member of a boys’ choir, conducted his high school choir, played the role of Danny Zuko in “Grease,” and was a keyboardist for the band The Current which performed Led Zeppelin covers. In an interview for the Taunton Daily Gazette, he commented:
I was the music director at St. Malachy Parish in Burlington. I taught and had a choir at Walnut Hill School [for the Performing Arts] in Natick, and I did two choirs for New England Conservatory Preparatory School.
Murphy has also been music director at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre and Center for the Arts and the Sundance Institute in Provo. Among his responsibilities are assisting Mack Wilberg with the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in rehearsals, concerts, tours, and the weekly broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. He also helps to produce recording sessions (they just finished a recording of Handel’s “Messiah”), and serves as the conductor of the Temple Square Chorale, the preparatory ensemble for new singers in Choir service. When Murphy isn’t working with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, he teams up with his wife, Jennifer, and directs the choir at a local elementary school.
Follow Ryan Murphy
Recent Posts
Taylor Swift Responds to David Archuleta’s Mash-up of “Crush” and “Love Story”
World-renown entertainer, David James Archuleta, was only twelve years of age when he became the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2. At sixteen years old, he became one of the youngest finalists on the seventh season of American Idol in 2007. He finished the...
BYU Vocal Point Collaborates with Contemporary Christian Singer Brian Courtney Wilson
Fear can be defined as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” In the uncertain times in which we now live, behind the smiles that we may see, there exists for many, a feeling of fear or...
The First Year of Mat and Savanna Shaw’s Musical Journey
Almost a year ago, on 6 March 2020, father-daughter duo Mat and Savanna Shaw from Kaysville, Utah, released their very first music video on YouTube. In the video they performed a wondrous cover of “The Prayer.” In little to no time, the video went viral, and as of...
Songs of the Heart Music is a Matter of the Heart
Keith Lionel Brown is a budding Latter-day Saint song writer who comes from a rich musical background. His mother, maternal grandmother, maternal great grandmother, and several aunts and cousins were all members of the Sacred Doves gospel choir at the Baptist church...
The Life and Times of Marwenna Diame
Marwenna Diame, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born Gwen Isabella Laidlaw in December 1960 in Dumbarton, Scotland, to Marion and James Laidlaw. Her father passed away in 2018 and her mother passed away in 2020. She was named after her...
2021 Youth Music Festival Will Take Place in March
During the virtual Youth Music Festival in July 2020, Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told youth that one of most powerful ways to hear the Lord’s voice is through music. She said, “The scriptures...