Conductor | Composer
Canadian conductor and composer Patrick Murray is a multi-faceted choral artist whose musical work reveals an equal commitment to high-calibre performance, education, and community engagement.
Currently, as Director of Music at Church of St. John the Evangelist (Anglican) in Elora, ON, Murray directs Canada’s pre-eminent professional Anglican church choir and oversees a comprehensive program of music performance, education, and outreach. Additionally, Murray serves as Artistic Director of Chor Amica (London, ON) and as Director of the University of Toronto Scarborough Concert Choir.
Passionate about working with singers of all ages and abilities, Murray has served on choral faculty at Western University (2018-2021) and Wilfrid Laurier University (2021-2023), and as a teaching artist with the Bach Children’s Chorus (Scarborough, ON), Oakville Choir for Children and Youth, Toronto Children’s Chorus, Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School, and Illinois Summer Youth Music. An advocate for new music, Murray has premiered over thirty new works from the podium in collaboration with ensembles and festivals including the Ad Astra Music Festival (Russell, KS), Guelph Chamber Choir, Illinois Modern Ensemble, New Music New Haven, and FAWN Chamber Creative. Choirs under his direction have been recognized in the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs and been invited to perform at PODIUM, Canada’s national choral conference.
Murray’s own compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and premiered by numerous ensembles in Canada and the United States including New York Polyphony, Carmel Bach Festival, College of the Holy Cross, Metropolitan United Church Choir (Toronto), Summer Institute of Church Music, and others. His works have been recognized by the SOCAN Young Composers Award, recorded by the DaCapo Chamber Choir, and are published by Cypress Choral Music and Renforth Music.
Murray’s research focuses on artistic practices of community collaboration in contemporary choral music. His work has been published in Choral Journal and featured at national and international choral and arts conferences, and has been supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, SOCAN Foundation, Canadian New Music Network, and the University of Toronto Scarborough I.D.E.A.S. Fund. Between 2020-2021, Murray ran a volunteer community singing program for the London InterCommunity Health Centre, connecting socially isolated clients through musical experiences throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. He is a graduate of University of Illinois (DMA), Yale School of Music (MM), and University of Toronto (B.Mus), studying under noted conductors including Andrew Megill, David Hill, Jeffrey Douma, Marguerite Brooks, Ivars Taurins, and Hilary Apfelstadt.
Murray lives with his wife, harpist Noël Wan, and their two tuxedo cats, Georgina and Simone.
