Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Michael Murphy

Hi Kevin Michael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

I moved to NYC in 2005 with dreams of making it on Broadway. I was fresh out of college and starting graduate school at NYU to study Musical Theatre and Vocal Pedagogy. I loved performing, but also had a passion for teaching people how to sing. I spent my twenties auditioning, doing improv comedy, writing my own shows, and performing as much as I could. During this time I started to teach singing to some friends and fellow actors out of my living room. In 2011, I founded the NYC Vocal Studio with my dear friend Molly Noerenberg. In the beginning, I thought that performing was my creative outlet and that teaching was a more technical endeavor. All these years later, however, I realized I was wrong. Teaching and learning are art forms in and of themselves. Being a great teacher requires creativity, improvisation, critical thinking skills, and a lot of out of the box thinking.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I had the great fortune of touring the country with the Broadway musical, “The Book of Mormon” back when it first opened. After 2 years of living on the road, I returned to NYC and found that my voice was getting easily fatigued. I had lost range and stamina, and I was worried. I went to the Sean Parker Institute for the Voice, got scoped, and my laryngologist told me that my vocal folds looked perfect. For a while it was a mystery. One day while doing yoga, however, I made the connection that the dance injuries I was dealing with (in my foot and shoulder) were having an impact on my singing.

Why would exploring mobility in my foot have an effect on my voice? I got curious. Eventually some mentors came into my life who helped me understand that it all comes back to the brain. The human body is a beautifully complex system, not just a series of parts and pieces. Everything is connected. Once I realized that my voice doesn’t exist independently from the rest of me, I was able to work globally to find more ease locally. While initially a struggle, this experience changed the course of my teaching and has lead me down a path of exploring the voice through a more holistic lens.

The people who perform on Broadway are athletes. Athletes who need to stay flexible, strong, sensitive, responsive, and resilient 8 shows a week. In the studio, I help these singers find freedom in their bodies and a dynamic flexibility in their voices. We play. We explore unexpected places. We find ease in a way that allows them to stay present with their scene partners and their audiences- because honest and authentic communication is what it’s all about!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

While I work with Broadway professionals, I also teach complete beginners and people looking to sing as a hobby. This is not by accident. I had a paradigm shift a few years back that completely changed the way I think about singing. I have a strong belief that all humans deserve the benefits that come along with expressing yourself through song.

Humans have been singing and making sounds for pretty much as long as we’ve been on this planet. Some hypothesize that language emerged from early humans mimicking bird calls. Mothers sing lullabies to calm their babies. Every major religion/spirituality involves some type of singing or chanting. Singing can lower stress levels and help us to connect to our own identities, to other humans, and to something bigger than ourselves. Singing is one way to find balance in an increasingly stressful, lonely, and chaotic world.

From the computer programmer who sings Sea Shanties down at South Street Seaport, to the retiree belting out songs at Climate Change protests.

From the 2 best friends who want to up their game at Marie’s Crisis, to the dancer preparing to sing 16 bars at an audition.

From the attorney surprising his wife-to-be with a Van Morrison song at their wedding, to the Broadway actress finding her voice again after having a child.

My students come into lessons looking for technical help, but (if I’ve done my job right) leave discovering that their voice is a tool of self expression capable of so much more than they’ve realized.

My current passion projects are my 2 group classes:

1. Karaoke Class: a 4 week long deep dive into vocal technique, connecting to our love of music and the nostalgia that it brings, and the specific skillset required to nail the perfect karaoke song.

2. Pop Up Pop Choir: a one night choir where we explore harmonizing, musicality, and expressing as a group. So far we’ve explored Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, Coldplay’s “Fix You”, and Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” Can’t wait to see where we go next!

While these classes are about learning technical things on the outside, secretly they’re about building community and connection.

This work is truly a passion, and I am very grateful for the incredible group of humans I get to sing with every week.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?

Crop rotation. Many years ago I heard an interview with Joni Mitchell where she described her artistic life as needing crop rotation. Sometimes she needs to write songs, sometimes she needs to paint. When she hits the right balance she feels artistically fulfilled. I have found the same thing to be true for myself. In order to be the best teacher I can be, I have to be in artistic alignment with myself. I need to make time for my own singing and my own writing. This is something I have to constantly revisit, but time and time again it proves to be a game changer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.NYCVocalStudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nycvocalstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYCVocalStudio