Paul Murray

Paul Murray, 1927-2007, was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, where he received his early education. After organ study at Mount Allison University, he moved to Toronto where he studied organ with Drummond Wolff and was awarded the ATCM in 1951, the Mus.Bac. (Toronto) in 1952 and the FCCO in 1952. He then studied organ at the Royal College of Music in London, England, with George Thalben-Ball and was awarded the FRCO in 1954.

In 1955 he returned to his native Saint John where he was the director of school music and organist and choir master at Centenary Queen Square United Church until 1961 when he returned to Toronto as organist and choirmaster at Metropolitan United Church from 1961 to 1967, supervisor of music for Scarborough Schools and school music chairman for the North York Board of Education from 1963 to 1967.

In 1967 he came to Halifax as music consultant for the Nova Scotia Department of Education. In Halifax, he served as organist and choirmaster at St. James' Anglican Church, Armdale, and at St. Matthew's United Church. He founded the Halifax Chamber Choir in 1970. He was host for the CBC program "Organists in Recital" from 1978 to 1986 and regularly provided symphony concert reviews for CBC's "Information Morning."Paul Murray served as chair of the Halifax Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists from 1972 to 1974. He resourced workshops in various centres and organized a regional conference in Moncton in 1972 and Halifax's first national RCCO convention in 1973. He became a board member of the Canadian Music Educators Association in 1972 and was its president from 1976 to 1979. From 1976 he was a director of the Canadian Music Council and its vice-president from 1978 to 1981. He was an active and honorary life member in the Nova Scotia Federation and the New Brunswick Choral Federation.

Retirement brought Paul an Hon. LLD from Dalhousie University in 1992. He remained active, continuing as a music festival adjudicator, as a member of the Board of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, as a choral clinician, organist and teacher. He served as acting organist at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax, and Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton whose choirs performed his music and to whom some of this music is dedicated.