BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

Violinist Jacob Murphy established his career as a founding member and second violinist for 18 years of the Euclid Quartet, one of the most highly regarded ensembles of its generation. Captivating audiences and critics alike, as part of this ensemble he consistently performed to enthusiastic acclaim throughout the country, everywhere from school classrooms to Carnegie Hall.

Highlights of Jacob’s career in the Euclid Quartet include significant global recognition as a member of the first American string quartet to be awarded a top prize at the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Prior to its Japanese laurels, the quartet also won awards in numerous United States competitions, including the Hugo Kauder International Competition for String Quartets, the Carmel Chamber Music Competition, and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. In 2009, the Euclid Quartet was awarded the esteemed “American Masterpieces” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jacob has been a frequent guest at American and Canadian music festivals, among them those of Aspen, Great Lakes, Kent/Blossom, and Orford, and has collaborated with internationally renowned artists including James Dunham, Gregory Fulkerson, Warren Jones, Paul Katz, Joseph Silverstein, and Alexander Toradze. Early in his time with the Euclid Quartet, the ensemble was twice awarded the String Quartet Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, where it was invited to return for the subsequent summer’s concert season. The quartet was also invited to study with the Emerson String Quartet at the Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop.

Teaching and outreach have long been important parts of Mr. Murphy’s career. He is a devoted violin teacher and chamber music coach, and served on the music faculty at Indiana University South Bend for nine years and at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, for six years. During his time in South Bend, he was the coach for seven consecutive years to the Geoffroy Prize-winning ensemble at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. This prize is awarded to the highest-ranking local ensemble in the competition. He is also passionate about presenting the highest quality classical music to young audiences. As a teaching artist, he has performed for thousands and thousands of students and young adults, in part through support from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborations with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association.

Active in the recording studio, Jacob can be heard on several recordings. As a member of the Euclid Quartet, he recorded a pair of CDs comprising the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók for Artek Recordings. The American Record Guide raved about these discs, “rarely has a group found such meaning and vision.” He is also featured in the quartet’s debut CD on Centaur records, which features the first four quartets of Hugo Kauder. A refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who fled to the United States in the 1940s, Kauder defied the atonal trend of his generation with his uniquely harmonic, contrapuntal style. As a soloist, Jacob is featured on “The Harlequin” (Centaur Records) performing John Ferrito’s Intersezione for solo violin. In addition to performing on these recordings, he also served as audio editor of the recording of Kauder string quartets, as well as numerous Euclid Quartet demo recordings.

Raised in a small collection of towns, he claims Fresno, California as his home town.  He began his violin studies at the age of 6 through a unique school music program, and later continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music and Kent State University.  His principal teachers included Charles Castleman, Gregory Fulkerson, Camilla Wicks, and Claudia Shiuh. He performs on a 2008 violin by Greg Alf.

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