Murrough Connolly is an award-winning composer from Tralee, Co Kerry. Currently based in Manchester, his music challenges conventional harmonic practices to uncover new avenues for harmonic exploration. While his recent compositions reveal a unique perspective on the overtone series and post-spectral music, other pieces adopt a much more liberal approach by intuitively combining contemporary classical techniques with the blues guitar music of his youth. Several of his works have also investigated how subjective perceptions of visual colours can inspire harmonic colours. In December 2023, he completed his PhD in Music Composition at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Prof. Camden Reeves.

Murrough’s works have been performed by a wide range of outstanding performers and ensembles from the UK, Ireland and the USA, including: Psappha Ensemble, Quatuor Danel, The Carducci Quartet, Somnium Chamber Choir, Katherine Hunka and The Irish Guitar Quartet. He has also received commissions from Dr. Kelsey Paquin and Dr. Aileen Razey, the UCC Singers and the Kerry School of Music. In 2022, The SCS Killaloe Music Festival commissioned his violin duo, Imperium, which was broadcast by RTE Lyric FM on ‘The Full Score with Liz Nolan’ Show on 15 May 2023.

In 2022, Murrough was selected for Psappha Ensemble’s ‘Composing for Piano’ Scheme and the Peter Reynolds Composer Studio, a one-week composer residency run by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. In 2023,  he was one of three composers to win the 2023 West Cork Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition with his string quartet, Ildaite. He was also a finalist in Festival Musical Durtal’s International Piano Composition Competition. 

Murrough is an associate composer represented by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland (CMC) and his works are documented and disseminated as part of their collection. He currently works as a Classical Music Curation Specialist for Welocalize Ltd.