Klearhos Murphy : Associate Artist
Photo: Laura Manaiti
Klearhos Murphy is a Greek-Australian composer who specialises in
composing and arranging music for symphonic and chamber music
settings, drawing from Western Art, Byzantine chant and
Greek-folk traditions.
Ensembles he has worked with national and international ensembles
such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, West Australia Symphony
Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Pops Orchestra,
Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and the WAAPA Symphony
Orchestra.
Klearhos is also interested in music education and research,
regularly holding workshops, consultations and tutorials for
tertiary students.
In 2017, Klearhos won the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra Composition
Competition, and in 2018, he participated in the WASO Composition
Project, winning the Bendat Family Foundation scholarship.
In 2021, Klearhos coordinated, performed in and conducted
Henousia: Graduation Recital, where his piece "Henousia Cantata"
won the ROSL Award for Best Composition.
2023 saw Klearhos enter into the Master of Music (Research)
course at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where he began
utilising Eastern Orthodox theology, Greek philosophy and Greek
music as conceptual bases for the creation of new works for
orchestra and chamber ensembles. Additionally, his keen interest
in music education led him to tutor secondary school students and
to take a position as a tutor at Janet Clarke Hall and The
University of Melbourne, focussing on music history, music theory
and orchestration.
In 2024, he participated in "Saruya Artists Residency" in
Fujiyama, Japan. In that same year, Klearhos had his work "Ikon
of Nipsis" premiered by the MSO as part of their "Cybec 21st
Century Australian Composers' Program". In the same year, he
participated in Omega Ensemble's CoLAB: Composer Accelerator
Program and Ensemble Offspring's Hatched Academy Composer
Intensive, with both programs featuring world premieres at the
Sydney Opera House.
In 2025, Klearhos worked closely with the MSO as their Cyber
Young Composer in Residence, Ensemble Offspring as part of their
Hatched Academy Alumni Commission, and the Australian Hellenic
Choir for their concert "A Portrait of Greece".
Biography provided by the composer — current to August 2025