Katherine Murdock
professor, composition and music theory, School of Music, College of Fine Arts
With 25 years at Wichita State and some 60 commissioned compositions to her name,
Katherine Murdock could rest. Instead, she hopes to continue to compose music from
the lush backdrop of her new mountain home in Arkansas.
It’s a dream home designed by Murdock’s husband, architect and composer David Franks,
whom she met in 1994 at a University of Arkansas composer conference in Fayetteville.
The pair married in 1995 and, seven years later, bought six acres on a mountainside
south of Fayetteville.
Their home was just finished this past July, and she and Franks are still in the
process of moving. They look forward to nestling into their new home and enjoying
Fayetteville.
“Fayetteville is a charming college town in a beautiful natural setting, sort of
like Lawrence in the mountains,” said Murdock. “There will be much in the environment
and community to keep us busy.”
Besides composing, she and Franks share a passion for collecting antique postcards
and plan to supplement their income by selling them on the Internet and at postcard
shows.
Looking back at her WSU years, Murdock points to the Contemporary Music Festival,
which she founded in 1991 with student John Clare and ran until 2008 when she stepped
down as director.
“It started out small and grew to include nearly the whole School of Music and a
week of concerts and activities,” she said. “I think that the best one was in 2005
when we were able to have iconic composer George Crumb as our guest composer. The
first festival was probably the most fun.”
Her compositions have been premiered at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. State
honors include winning a Kansas Arts Commission Kansas Artist Fellowship (1992) and
the first-ever KAC Kansas Master Artist Fellowship in Music Composition (2009).
Murdock has always enjoyed making music theory comprehensible to the average music
student. She follows former students’ accomplishments and has developed long-lasting
relationships with many.
She also takes pride in being able to keep composing music in spite of being challenged
by a heavy teaching load as budgets and resources have grown slimmer at the university.
In spite of tough economic times, she delighted in a collegial and supportive music
faculty and “the abundance and high quality of the music making.”
But it’s time to take life a little easier, she said.
“We hope to travel – we love road trips – and undertake various art projects,” said
Murdock. “We hope to have more time to read. We will not set our alarm clock.”