Klearhos Murphy has been named the winner of Willoughby Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composer of the Year Award for 2023.
“I was honestly completely starstruck when they called me,” said Klearhos to Neos Kosmos.
The Young Composer Award is the only national competition of its kind in Australia and is hosted annually by Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.
For 19 years now, it has provided young Australian composers with the unique opportunity to compose for a full orchestra then have their new work performed, and recorded live, by the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.
Murphy’s piece, “Prayer for Makronissos” will be performed by Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Choir on May 20 – 21 at the Concourse Theatre, Chatswood, North Sydney.
It serves as a connection to his grandfather’s experience during the Greek Civil War; a time of socioeconomic distress, where internal exile in prisons was used to punish political dissidents.
According to Klearhos, his grandfather recalls the “whole process of his father being detained and not being able to say goodbye or see him for a year.”
Urged by the instinct of creation, Murphy “gave birth” to “Prayer for Makronissos”, a musical piece he dedicated to his grandfather as well as “those who were sent there, those who survived and those who did not.”
“I titled it a prayer because the lyrics are based on Greek Orthodox prayer used in times of trouble and difficulty,” he explains.
Driven by a deep sense of “respect and admiration” for all those who were detained and incarcerated during the Civil War, Murphy admits that he became “more aware” through this experience and used music as a key to unlock an awakening in people’s consciousnesses.
He has also been the recipient of several awards for his work in music such as the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition, the ROSL Award for Best Composition, St Mary’s Composition Competition, and now the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra Young Composer Award.
In his words, this has been the “most significant competition” he has won so far, admitting that he has been “keeping an eye on it,” for quite some time.
Born in Perth, the young Greek Australian composer is currently based in Melbourne and has worked with a variety of national and international ensembles.
He specializes in composing and arranging music for symphonic and chamber music settings using elements from Western Art, Byzantine, and Greek-folk traditions, and recently commenced a Master of Music (Research) at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
The focus of his studies is the utilization of Eastern Orthodox theology, Greek philosophy, and Greek music as the fundamental basis for the creation of new works for orchestra and chamber ensembles.
From a young age Murphy “loved playing music” and “imitating songs.”
Even though he “loved playing the piano,” Klearhos admits that he “did not really like the fact” that he had to “affect other people’s work.”
This pointed him to a direction that resonated with his true musical identity.
“I just wanted to learn more about the theory and the composition techniques that composers used when writing, and seeing if I could replicate these techniques in my own way,” he stresses.
After writing his first piece for piano in high school, Murphy gravitated towards the art of writing music.
His studies at university solidified his intentions with composition, exposing him to “brilliant music written for orchestras and chamber ensembles” that drew him to the repertoire.
However, being raised as Greek Orthodox, Klearhos didn’t really feel “situated within the tradition that was being taught at university.”
“I sort of began to feel a sense of disassociation with the tradition just purely by the fact that culturally, that’s just not how I grew up at all. And so, I decided to research more into my Greek roots and listen to more Greek music.”
These feelings triggered a curiosity that unlocked pandora’s music box.
Allowing his creativity to flourish, the Greek Australian composer began experimenting with different musical traditions of Greek folk music and Byzantine chant, as well as writing music for orchestral instrumentalists, choirs, and arranging orchestras and ensembles.
His pappou’s and yiayia’s recommendations of great artists such as Dalaras and Theodorakis, introduced Murphy to a style and theory that “has influenced his work a lot as of recently.”
He recognises music’s contribution in the preservation of Greek language, saying that “learning the lyrics to the songs, is an incredible way of learning the intricacies of the language, “adding that Greek lyrics have a “very poetic dimension.”
Klearhos also regularly holds workshops, consultations, and tutorials for students, helping them “harness their skills and their attention to detail as well as their love for music,” an experience he describes as “very inspirational.”
He makes clear that his interest in this form of art is not merely musical.
“What really interests me is learning more about different concepts both philosophically and theologically, with a particular emphasis on Greek Orthodox theology or Eastern Orthodox theology,” he explains.
Murphy wishes to “spread awareness” of such ideas through music, as he finds it an “exceptionally accessible” and “malleable art form” because “people can just listen to music.”
“They don’t need to necessarily concentrate on what’s being conveyed but they can nonetheless experience it.”
Hoping to cross paths with other artists who come from “more spiritual, mystical traditions” that are “rather similar to Eastern Orthodoxy,” Klearhos dares to dream even bigger.
“My aspiration is to put together a concert that features concepts from these various traditions that can be expressed through music and instruments, whether this comes from particular cultures of which the religion resides, or just through the concept itself.”
He desires a future that finds him touring even beyond the borders of Australia.
“I don’t really subscribe to the idea that we just create art because it’s fun or that it sounds nice. I truly think that adding that extra dimension of meaning and motivation is what gives it life.”
“Try to find a meaningful and important paradigm or world view, that you can then express through art. That’s what I would say.”