Pippa Murphy
Pippa Murphy is an award winning Scottish composer and sound designer who writes for theatre, dance, film, choirs and orchestras.
Pippa is known for her stylistic breadth, depth, and originality, as well as a unique cross-disciplinary understanding of storytelling and creative collaboration.
Pippa’s works are multi-layered and multi-sensory. Some pieces draw on the full effects of combining sound design with orchestral instruments and voices. Her music has an immediacy, which is often dramatic and expressive. She is particularly interested in vocal techniques, phonemes and ‘found’ sound.
She has written music for BBC2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Scottish Opera, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, St Magnus International Festival, and numerous theatre companies including The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Stellar Quines, Dundee Rep, Birmingham Rep, Grid Iron, Tron Theatre, Eden Court, Traverse Theatre and 7:84.
She composed Anamchara with writer Alexander McCall Smith which was performed by Scottish Opera as part of the Commonwealth Games 2014. Recent projects include orchestral arrangements for Celtic Connections with Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and original songs for POP-UP Duets with Janis Claxton Dance Company now on International tour.
She won the CATS Award 2017 for Best Music and Sound for Wind Resistance and her album with Karine Polwart, Pocket of Wind Resistance, was nominated for best album at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Pippa was classically trained on piano, violin and percussion from an early age. She completed her BMus, MA and PhD in composition at the University of Birmingham. She lectures at the University of Edinburgh and guest lectures at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the University of Aberdeen and the University of St Andrews.
She was Artist in Residence at the Scottish Parliament 2014.
