Short Biography

Zoe Murphy is originally from Everett, MA, an inner city outside of the Boston area. Zoe began playing the trumpet and joined her school's band program at age 10.  She soon found a place to flourish, accompanied with a sense of community. After choosing the trumpet, she was soon captivated by the idea of coming together, no matter the background of the student, and bringing a sense of  joy, fulfilment, and community through making music. Like most aspiring musicians, she obsessed over practicing, and it became a place of refuge. Zoe spent countless hours a day working on her craft, making it an integral part of her life. This drive continued for the duration of my middle and highschool career. 

In Zoe’s junior year of highschool, she auditioned for the Massachusetts Northeastern district jazz band. After getting accepted, she discovered how amazing it felt to make music at such a high level with peers that were extremely passionate. This quickly sparked an interest to become a professional musician. She later decided to pursue a degree in jazz studies at Indiana University. Originally from an inner city outside the greater Boston area, she was shocked moving halfway across the country to a region represented by corn fields and predominantly white suburban neighborhoods. She grew up in an urban setting where being a person of color did not feel like a novelty, the same could not be said here. Moving showed Zoe how out of place she could feel within the music community. With perseverance, she did not let the initial shock detour her, and continued with her studies. 

During this time, Zoe’s appreciation for music and jazz/improvisation grew deeper than she could have imagined. While at Indiana University, she studied with John Raymond, Joey Tartell, Walter Smith III, and Greg Ward. Her professors advocated for studying all sub genres of jazz while showing her the importance of passing the lineage of the art form to future generations. Later in Zoe’s  studies, she focused on where jazz derived from. The creation of jazz came from the oppression of African Americans in the 20th century. Taught orally, it freed their spirits from the literal shackles of their physical reality. After absorbing the impact of the history, while tying in the theoretical, stylistic, and techniquical knowledge, it all seemed to click. From when she was a child, searching for community, to when she was an emerging adult, seeing first hand what racial and gender inequalities looked like within her field, she knew it was her mission to dedicate her life to teaching and performing jazz for both herself and for future generations. All while being a living representation and advocate for diversity. 

After graduating, Zoe moved back to the Boston area and began teaching high school inner city kids, teaching privately, and working as a brass assistant through the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra,  while pursuing a masters degree in jazz performance. While teaching she saw music give her students hope, joy, and purpose, similarly to herself. This gives her inspiration with her own work/studies, and has made Zoe want to pass on her knowledge to ensure the tradition continues to inspire and foster a sense of community in other people in her community. Zoe is currently working on producing an album for May 2022, highlighting an observation of a bi racial persons perspective and experience while growing up in America. Zoe is working on this project with her New England Conservatory private teachers, Frank Carlberg, and Jason Moran.