murray player profile:

Shawn Marsh

shawn marsh

How did you find out about the Murray flute?

From my first flute teacher, Loretta Contino, in Indianapolis when I asked her what the best flute to play was. She did not play one but wished she did as they made more sense.

Please tell us about your flute(s) – when it was made and by whom (or if unknown, where you found it)

My flute is French Model Jack Moore #175, A442, William Bennett scale, from 1982. My Murray piccolo is an Opperman, GSPM #2140-004, A441, from 1988.

When did you switch to Murray flute and why?

I switched to open G# in high school and full Murray flute when I received my Jack Moore as a Freshman in college. In addition to studying with Alex, reading Nancy Toff’s Development of the Modern Flute solidified my decision to change.

How long did it take you to switch?

It took about a week to relearn scales in 2 octaves and chord basics and about a month to do Taffanel & Gaubert daily scales without mistakes. Switching to full Murray took about the same time frame. (Studies for Facilitating the Execution of the Upper Notes of the Flute by D.S. Wood helped a great deal…although your neighbors may never speak to you again.)

Do you play other fingering systems or other instruments in addition to your Murray instruments?

Yes. Traverso, plus traditional Boehm Piccolo and Alto flute on occasion. It is much less difficult than I imagined. Just practice. I like historic mechanisms and occasionally played a Carte System in college.

Did you ever study with Alex Murray, and if so, how would you describe your experience?

I feel very privileged that I was able to study with Alex in the summers at Interlochen in high school and then at the University of Illinois as a performance major. Being a mechanism-nerd, most of our early lessons involved discussing his experiments and ideas. For my flute, Alex and I worked on simplifying and streamlining the design to produce an attractive and as simple a French Model Murray Flute possible (the then new Coltman C#, all-inline tone holes, French key cup arms, no split F#-A device, telescoping triple trill rods – of course, Alex threw in an experimental tone hole size). I still use it as my main instrument today.

Being very reserved at the time, I found his teaching highly eccentric, exuberant and frustrating in the beginning, but I refused to give up. (His playing was brilliant after all.) It wasn’t until I seriously studied Alexander Technique that his teaching fell into place for me. As a person he was humorous, very patient, creative and trusting. When my new flute arrived, he borrowed it the whole following semester to test and loaned me his white gold one to use. I was terrified and flattered.

His emphasis on harmony (he was a solfege wiz), thorough knowledge of accompaniment, poetry and their application to interpretation still influences my playing. His breath control and coloring were simply amazing. (One of few times we got to hear what he was capable of, he played the Ravel Bolero solo for Masterclass – while simultaneously playing parallel fifth whistle tones throughout the entire solo as co-existing lines. He did this loudly and solidly. The projection was amazing. We were dumbfounded.)

Mostly, I just wanted him to play so I could mimic what he was doing. I wanted to sound more like Alex and less like a jet engine which was so popular at the time. If I begged, he would break down his sound into components so I could understand tone color better.

The most important lesson that I learned from Alex was actually ‘how to learn’.

Did the murray flute change the way you play in any way?

Yes, not just the immediate playing better in tune and getting a nice open C#, but especially in regard to physically balancing the instrument and breathing. A concentrated study of Alexander Technique was essential for me to do that. Because the instrument must be ‘balanced’ and cannot be held or gripped, once I could execute the core concepts of AT, my body really freed-up throughout; resonance and my confidence greatly increased.

What is your profession?

Private project manager and evaluator for Fine and Decorative Arts and Interior Design clients. Prior to that I specialized in antique English, European and American Furniture and Decorative Arts. I am very fortunate to lead a dedicated LGBT double woodwind quintet.

More from our community