Owen Murray
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Owen Murray studied accordion, piano and theory at the Royal Danish Academy of Musicin Copenhagen from 1974 to 1981. After graduating with Honours as a music teacher, with the accordion as his main subject, he was awarded a further one year’s education in the Diploma class, which is a soloist education culminating in an examination / recital in the main Concert Hall of the Academy. His accordion teacher was Mogens Ellegaard.
In 1978 the Danish Accordion Teachers Union invited him to play in their prestigious Master Concert series. In 1980 he performed Torbjorn Lundquist’s masterly composition for accordion and percussion, ‘Duell’, in a programme for Danish Radio from the famous Carlsberg Glyptiotek in Copenhagen with Scandinavia’s brilliant young percussionist Gert Mortensen. Apart from concert appearances in Denmark and Sweden, Murray has given concerts in Scotland and has appeared on Scottish radio and television.
Murray in one of the young generation of highly qualified accordion teachers being educated today at many of the world’s leading academies of music. The accordion teachers degree demands the same quality of performance, teaching ability and theoretical knowledge as that demanded of all other instrumentalists. It is interesting to note that the final accordion teachers examination lasts for four hours and consists of, among other teats, a 40-minute solo recital programme and teaching of students from beginner to advance level – all this in front of an audience and a jury of professors.
Murray received the highest mark the academy has awarded an accordion student in the final accordion teachers’ examination since the instrument was accepted in 1970.
Murray was the first Scottish accordionist to be educated at a recognised academy of music, for the Degree of Accordion Teacher.
The Royal Danish Academy of Music is one of the world’s leading music academies. The entrance audition to the academy is extremely demanding and only after a most thorough series of examinations, are students accepted.
The Accordion Teachers’ Degree course is six years duration and during that time, students are given a thorough education in all aspects of theory, harmony, counterpoint, history, aural training, singing, analysis, psychology, piano and one’s chosen subject.
Murray is today one of the highest qualified accordion teachers in the world.
And all made possible by his mum, the well known Lothian’s accordion teacher Chrissie Leatham (who taught, Jim Johnstone, Iain MacPhail, Phil, Cunningham, Craig McCallum and many, many more) and grandfather Peter Leatham, a recording artiste from the melodeon era in the earliest days of recording.
Box and Fiddle
March 1983
In 1978 the Danish Accordion Teachers Union invited him to play in their prestigious Master Concert series. In 1980 he performed Torbjorn Lundquist’s masterly composition for accordion and percussion, ‘Duell’, in a programme for Danish Radio from the famous Carlsberg Glyptiotek in Copenhagen with Scandinavia’s brilliant young percussionist Gert Mortensen. Apart from concert appearances in Denmark and Sweden, Murray has given concerts in Scotland and has appeared on Scottish radio and television.
Murray in one of the young generation of highly qualified accordion teachers being educated today at many of the world’s leading academies of music. The accordion teachers degree demands the same quality of performance, teaching ability and theoretical knowledge as that demanded of all other instrumentalists. It is interesting to note that the final accordion teachers examination lasts for four hours and consists of, among other teats, a 40-minute solo recital programme and teaching of students from beginner to advance level – all this in front of an audience and a jury of professors.
Murray received the highest mark the academy has awarded an accordion student in the final accordion teachers’ examination since the instrument was accepted in 1970.
Murray was the first Scottish accordionist to be educated at a recognised academy of music, for the Degree of Accordion Teacher.
The Royal Danish Academy of Music is one of the world’s leading music academies. The entrance audition to the academy is extremely demanding and only after a most thorough series of examinations, are students accepted.
The Accordion Teachers’ Degree course is six years duration and during that time, students are given a thorough education in all aspects of theory, harmony, counterpoint, history, aural training, singing, analysis, psychology, piano and one’s chosen subject.
Murray is today one of the highest qualified accordion teachers in the world.
And all made possible by his mum, the well known Lothian’s accordion teacher Chrissie Leatham (who taught, Jim Johnstone, Iain MacPhail, Phil, Cunningham, Craig McCallum and many, many more) and grandfather Peter Leatham, a recording artiste from the melodeon era in the earliest days of recording.
Box and Fiddle
March 1983