William Murphy, 74: Voice worthy of rapture but rooted in his fam

William Murphy, 74, an educator and a singer whom Eugene Ormandy called "Philadelphia's greatest bass-baritone," died of cancer Dec. 24 at Willow Valley Manor in Lancaster.

In the early 1960s, Mr. Murphy seemed destined for international opera stardom. He studied voice in New York with famed instructor Beverly Johnson and received rave reviews for his Papageno in the Washington National Opera's production of The Magic Flute. He worked with Igor Stravinsky and recorded two works with the composer, Renard and The Nightingale.

But Mr. Murphy, a graduate of Lincoln High School in Northeast Philadelphia and West Chester State Teachers College, opted for a quieter, if still very artistic, life. Despite his successes, he decided to return to the Philadelphia area.

"Friends felt he had a great future, but he wanted the stability of a home and family," recalled his wife, Joanne White Murphy, whom he met at West Chester.

By the mid-1960s, the couple had settled in Ambler, where they would raise their two children. Mr. Murphy joined the faculty at Philadelphia High School for Girls, where he taught music and directed the Treble Clef Choir for three decades until retiring in 1993.

He helped establish an opera workshop in the School District of Philadelphia and taught at the University of the Arts, the Temple University Music Festival, and Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Mr. Murphy appeared in Kiss Me Kate and The Most Happy Fella at the Muhlenberg Summer Music Festival, and was a soloist with the Singing City Choir, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Cantata Singers of New York, Temple University Choir, Philadelphia Oratorio Choir, and Choral Society of the National Cathedral.

He was a soloist at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park for more than 30 years and a frequent soloist at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church Whitemarsh, and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Rittenhouse Square.

Mr. Murphy won the adulation of Ormandy for saving a Philadelphia Orchestra performance in 1970.

The Mendelssohn Club chorus was joining the orchestra for Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13, but the soloist was too ill to sing in the third and last concert. When Ormandy asked for a substitute, the club's director volunteered Mr. Murphy.

After just a few hours of preparation, Mr. Murphy sang the difficult five-part bass solo in Russian and was rewarded with a standing ovation. He took a dozen bows, and Ormandy told him that his performance was "positively marvelous."

While he delighted in applause, Mr. Murphy also found great joy in working at Girls' High, his wife said. One of his students was Jill Scott, the R&B singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy Award winner, who graduated in 1990.

In 2001, when a Philadelphia Daily News reporter asked if she had serious vocal training, Scott replied: "Yeah, at Girls' High. Mr. William Murphy was my vocal teacher and choir director. . . . He taught me to breathe."

Mr. Murphy was born in Savannah, Ga. His father was a career Army officer, and the family lived in military bases all over the country. In addition to earning a bachelor's degree at West Chester, he graduated from the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and earned a master's degree in music from Temple. From 1957 to 1960, he served in the Army as a soloist with the Army Band and Chorus and performed for President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House.

Mr. Murphy enjoyed mysteries, stamp collecting, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and concerts at the Tanglewood Music Festival, his wife said.

In addition to his wife of 51 years, he is survived by a son, Patrick; a daughter, Katherine Mueller; two brothers; two sisters; and a grandson.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 16 at Orr Auditorium at Willow Valley Manor, 211 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster.