British trumpeter Maurice Murphy (1935-2010) was best known to trumpeters as the principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1977-2007.  Murphy began playing the cornet at the age of six under the tutelage of his father, who was a member of a local Salvation Army Band.  When he was twelve, Murphy became the All Junior Champion Cornet Soloist. As a cornetist, Murphy played with the Black Dyke Mills Band.  In 1961 he became principal trumpeter of the BBC Northern Orchestra and moved to principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra 1977.  While playing in the LSO, Murphy played in numerous film scores, including all of the Star Wars films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Gangs of New York, Brassed Off, Mr. Holland’s Opus, the Alien movies, Gladiator, Batman, and numerous other movies.  Tom Jones and Björk both spoke highly of Murphy’s trumpet playing, and André Previn  described him as an ideal player in an orchestral setting.

Maurice Murphy

Murphy received many awards and honors in his lifetime.  He received the 2008 ITG Honorary Award for outstanding contributions to the art of trumpet playing.  In 2010 he became a member of the Order of the British Empire.  In addition to his playing prowess, Murphy was known as a caring friend and colleague.

Sources: Neville Young, http://www.trumpetguild.org/news/news00/murphy.htm, http://www.trumpetguild.org/news/10/1008mm.html

Links:

This is a link to a podcast made about Maurice Murphy by the LSO upon his retirement: http://lso.co.uk/mauricemurphy