J. P. Murphy serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Piano Area Chair at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches applied piano, graduate piano pedagogy, and coordinates the secondary piano studies program. An active clinician and adjudicator, he regularly presents workshops and guest lectures at state and national levels. His research on keyboard skills, inclusive teaching practices, effective classroom communication, and early-advanced teaching literature has been featured at numerous organizations, including the MTNA National Conference, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (GP3), and the MTNA Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposium. With the Frances Clark Center, Murphy has appeared in the From the Artist Bench lecture-performance series, served as a contributing instructor in the Intermediate Teacher Education virtual course, and participated as an invited panelist at the 2022 DEI Summit. His work has been published in Piano Magazine, Clavier Companion, American Music Teacher, MTNA e-Journal, and Piano Inspires Kids. He has been invited to give pedagogy lectures at institutions such as CCM - University of Cincinnati, University of Houston, University of Alabama, SUNY Fredonia, California State Northridge, Hillsdale College, Texas A&M Commerce, and Texas Woman’s University.
Dr. Murphy is currently serving as President of the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association (2024-2026). His leadership roles also include serving as a member of the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (GP3) Steering Committee, as a member of the NCKP 2023 and 2025 Teacher Education in Higher Education Committee, and as a member of the NCKP 2025 National Planning Committee. He is the co-advisor for the University of Oklahoma’s MTNA Collegiate Chapter.
Passionate about art song and chamber literature, Murphy is an active collaborative artist. While in New York, he was a staff accompanist in the pre-college and college divisions of the Manhattan School of Music, frequently performing in recitals and artist residencies. As a musical theater accompanist, he has played in various professional productions and served on the music staff of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, the Gateway Playhouse, and the FRIGID Festival NYC.
Before joining the University of Oklahoma, Murphy taught music in New York State public schools and owned an independent teaching studio. From 2016 to 2018, he was on the piano faculty at the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. His additional teacher training includes studies at the Golandsky Institute at Princeton University, the College Board AP Music Theory Summer Institute, and Orff-Schulwerk studies at Hofstra University.
Murphy holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a Graduate College Fellow and earned the Provost’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching. He holds a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Manhattan School of Music, and completed dual majors in Piano Performance and Pedagogy and Music Education while earning his Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia. His performance studies include the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, and the Orford Music Academy in Orford, Canada. Murphy’s piano and pedagogy mentors include Phyllis East, Barbara Fast, Jane Magrath, and Kenneth Merrill.
- DMA - University of Oklahoma
- MM - Manhattan School of Music
- BM - SUNY Fredonia
