Multidisciplinary, Immersive Experience Design, Music/Vocal/Instrumental
Semaj Murphy (he/they) is a rising creative who is currently a rising fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music studying violin performance and music industry. Semaj is a Philadelphian native, where he has studied with Amy Oshiro-Morales of the Philadelphia Orchestra and has participated in several music programs such as the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Snitzer String Quartet at Settlement Music School, Project 440’s Youth Advisory Council, the Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth (PMAY), the Sphinx Organization. Semaj has participated in prestigious summer festivals such as Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis Institute of Music, National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2), Tanglewood (BUTI), and Bowdoin International Music Festival. He has also played in master classes taught by the world’s most prominent violinists, such as Mai-Chen Liao-Barnes, Rachel Barton Pine, Elmar Oliveira, and Ayano Ninomiya.
Semaj is also an active advocate for diversity within the arts, where he has collaborated with various professionals, such as hip-hop rapper Rick Ross with the Red Bull Symphonic, NFL Honors Award Show, and The Piano Guys. Semaj aspires to break the barriers of traditional art academia and wishes to merge his multifaceted passions for classical music, string arranging, creative design, fashion, and music marketing.