Music Director & Conductor
James Murray began conducting
when, as a member of the Rome Festival Orchestra he stepped in to lead a
rehearsal for a conductor who was delayed. When the conductor arrived, he allowed Jim to finish the
rehearsal and then invited him to conduct a concert the following week. Since that time, Mr. Murray’s
conducting career has flourished, allowing him to work with numerous
ensembles. Currently, Mr. Murray
serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Northland Symphony Orchestra
(Kansas City, MO), Heritage Philharmonic (Eastern Jackson County, MO) and the
Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City, an ensemble that he founded in
1997.
Praised by the Kansas City Star for repertoire that “betrays an inventive sense of fun”, Mr. Murray’s formal training includes a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from William Jewell College and a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Denver. Workshop master teachers include Paul Vermel, Samuel Jones, Samuel Adler, Victoria Bond and Donald Portnoy.
His guest conductor appearances include the Kansas City Cello Ensemble, St. Louis All-Suburban Orchestra, Liberty Symphony Chamber Orchestra, William Jewell College Opera (Liberty, MO), and the Centennial Philharmonic (now the Denver Philharmonic). Increasingly in demand as a clinician, Jim has served as an adjudicator for the Kansas and Missouri State High School Activities Associations, as well as for numerous other festivals and workshops.
Off the podium, Jim is the Music Coordinator and an Instructor of Music at the Metropolitan Community College—Maple Woods. He teaches a full load of classes including Music Appreciation and Music of the World’s Cultures. Jim represents the Maple Woods campus as an elected member of the Faculty Senate. In 2009 he was one of eighteen educators to receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Outside the classroom and concert hall, Jim and his wife, Nicole, pursue the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. At the start of this 2012-2013 orchestral season, Jim has ridden 273 different roller coasters. He lags behind his wife who has chalked up 281 different roller coasters. Both rate Millennium Force at Cedar Point in Ohio as their favorite coaster.
Praised by the Kansas City Star for repertoire that “betrays an inventive sense of fun”, Mr. Murray’s formal training includes a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from William Jewell College and a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Denver. Workshop master teachers include Paul Vermel, Samuel Jones, Samuel Adler, Victoria Bond and Donald Portnoy.
His guest conductor appearances include the Kansas City Cello Ensemble, St. Louis All-Suburban Orchestra, Liberty Symphony Chamber Orchestra, William Jewell College Opera (Liberty, MO), and the Centennial Philharmonic (now the Denver Philharmonic). Increasingly in demand as a clinician, Jim has served as an adjudicator for the Kansas and Missouri State High School Activities Associations, as well as for numerous other festivals and workshops.
Off the podium, Jim is the Music Coordinator and an Instructor of Music at the Metropolitan Community College—Maple Woods. He teaches a full load of classes including Music Appreciation and Music of the World’s Cultures. Jim represents the Maple Woods campus as an elected member of the Faculty Senate. In 2009 he was one of eighteen educators to receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Outside the classroom and concert hall, Jim and his wife, Nicole, pursue the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. At the start of this 2012-2013 orchestral season, Jim has ridden 273 different roller coasters. He lags behind his wife who has chalked up 281 different roller coasters. Both rate Millennium Force at Cedar Point in Ohio as their favorite coaster.
