Daily Inspiration: Meet Chris Murphy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Murphy. 

Hi Chris, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’m a violinist, composer, producer & singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles. my original Violin music has been influenced Folk, Jazz, Blues, Irish, Rock & world music. 

I mostly perform live shows for a living, doing an incredibly wide range of gigs: concerts, festivals, house concerts, and club gigs to weddings, parties, corporate events, and t.v. and film appearances. I fell in love with music & the Violin growing up in the Hudson Valley of New York because my older sister’s boyfriend left a bunch of his albums at my house: 

Desire by Bob Dylan with Scarlet Rivera on Violin, Running On Empty by Jackson Browne with David Lindley on Violin, and Old & In The Way By Jerry Garcia with Vassar Clements on Violin. 

I got hooked. I later went to a music conservatory for college and dug deeply into jazz, ethnic music & composing. 

I started doing gigs for money in my early 20s to support myself and realized 2 critical things: 1) I loved playing my original music live and 2) audiences didn’t really care if they knew the music or not as long as the tunes & performances were strong. I kept writing songs & instrumentals of all types, and I started making albums and touring and the whole thing just kept going forward. I’ve never had a day job or done anything else. I moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and set up camp and have been doing about 200 shows a year, every year. I just released my 20th album of original music. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Doing art for a living definitely comes with some challenges and I had my share of hurdles along the way. Music can be especially difficult because it’s a business where art, money, collaboration, ego, and passion intersect and there are so many different interpretations of it all. lots of room for problems there but I’ve learned a lot along the way and have made it work. The most important lessons being about empathy, compromise, negotiation, and clarity. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I perform my original Violin music (both songs & instrumentals) for all and any aspects of life where music is needed: concerts, parties, festivals, weddings, bars, backyard barbecues, cultural art centers, art galleries, restaurants, pubs, funerals, birthday celebrations, religious events, museums, farmers markets, network t.v. and dances. I have solo, duo, trio, quartet, and quintet versions of my music and 

I specialize in creating a musical mood that enhances, enriches, and illuminates the moment. I utilize a lot of historical song forms like waltzes, ballads, jigs, rags, reels, shuffles, mambos, tarantellas, horas, two-step, partitas, and overtures to accomplish this. 

Myself and my musicians are all jazz-based, so we do a lot of improvisation on my music enabling us to react, interact and respond to our environment, creating a live film score-type soundtrack to our gigs. 

I’m very proud that we are able to do our show of original music and compete with DJs and cover bands for people’s attention and still get paid 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The journey is the reward 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chrismurphymusic.com
• Instagram: chrismurphyviolin
• Facebook: chrismurphyviolin
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/TheTeahouseCompany

Image Credits
Harmony Gerber