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Gospel Songwriter & Worship Leader Scores First Hit |
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| 2007-02-06 | ||
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Washington, D.C. – Jeremiah Murphy is a new name to some now, but that won’t be the case for long. The D.C. area praise and worship leader and national recording artist has been receiving much love from radio for his moving ballad, “The Lord Is In This Place”. Penned by Murphy, “The Lord Is In This Place”, a musical declaration of God’s presence and an invitation of worship, is being sung at churches around the country. For the prolific songwriter, high school music teacher and ordained minister, it’s just a taste of what he believes he’s been gifted to do. A native of Washington, D.C., Jeremiah Murphy learned to play the piano at the tender age of nine when a member of his church sat down and taught him the basics, after a prompting from the youngster. At 13, he found himself directing his junior high school choir and at 16, he was writing songs. “When I was a teenager,” says Murphy, “I prayed to God to make me a songwriter. And He answered by giving me my first song when I was sixteen years old”. For the young man, songwriting and directing seemed to go hand and hand and Murphy took on the role as the gospel choir director at his high school. Honing his skills in college at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Piano and his Masters of Music Teaching, he directed two choirs – one as the assistant director of the school’s Black Ensemble and the other as director of Voices For Christ. His passion for mentoring and educating led him to the Largo High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., where he’s the teacher of vocal music and director of the Largo High School Choir. The choir has been honored to back some of the best in gospel including Richard Smallwood, Karen Clark Sheard, Tramaine Hawkins and Myrna Summers. The genre of gospel music is where Murphy knows he’s called to and he’s been blessed with opportunities to sing God’s music all over the world, including The Netherlands, Britain and Israel, where he was a coordinator of the esteemed Jerusalem 3000 Choir. His travels have added to his experience and he’s put his musical knowledge on three recordings. Worship, his latest 19-track CD, is collage of praise and worship tunes that not only showcase the artist’s incredible songwriting ability, but his rare and mesmerizing bass voice. Listeners have been turning up the volume and singing along to the CD’s lead single, “The Lord Is In This Place”, in cities like Springfield, MA, Long Island, NY, Richmond, VA, Chicago, IL, and Dallas, TX. “I knew that it was blessing me when it was coming to me while I was in Los Angeles for the Gospel Music Workshop of America”, says Murphy about the songwriting process. But he didn’t realize the power of the song until he rehearsed it with his group, Judah. “When I got to a piano and started working it out with Judah, we began to rejoice and bless the Lord in that house,” recounts the songwriter. “It amazed me so mightily that everyone was so enthused with that song. As I look at it now, I believe it’s a song that can reach people across denominational lines. It simply says, ‘come and worship because the Lord is in this place’.” Other fabulous cuts on the project include the CD’s rousing opener, “I Praise The Lord”, the traditional gospel tinged “Jesus Lifted Me”, led by former Richard Smallwood Singer and current Vision singer Carolene Hatchett and “Everything”, led by the artist himself. He is no stranger to the gospel music industry and look at what others are saying about the ministry of Jeremiah Murphy: "Jeremiah Murphy......a Ministry that has endured through every change. A voice like no other.....an anointing for such a time as this". “Jeremiah is a Minstrel of a Maestro. He is humble and anointed and makes music ministry Majestic. I appreciate his anointing and gift.” "Over the years the name Jeremiah Murphy has been synonymous with excellence and integrity. Now the time has come for the world to experience this awesome talent." "When I think of Jeremiah Murphy, I think of musical excellence coupled with the spirit of humility....wow, what an awesome combination for PURE ministry.” For more information about Jeremiah Murphy, contact: |
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