The husband and wife duo of Kathrin Murray and Troy King was formed in 2000 when the composer Gilbert Biberian invited them to perform on his summer festival in Cheltenham, England. Since then they have performed to critical acclaim at concert venues in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, and Cheltenham, UK, to name a few. They have been featured guest artists at festivals and music schools such as the Interlochen Summer Music Festival, the Bethlehem Guitar Festival, the Charlton Kings International Guitar Festival and are winners of the Montpelier Arts Competition. The Glouchestershire ECHO (England) proclaimed "Their strong musical rapport was evident in their playing...atmospheric...guitarists of world stature."
Of their recording, American Record Guide wrote, "The Arabesque Duo plays beautifully on this recording, with a lovely tone and tasteful expressiveness...masterly Apollonian style." The recording on the Centaur record label includes piano music by Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy, Johannes Brahms, Joaquin Turina and Enrique Granados transcribed for two guitars. They are also featured on a recording of music by composer Garth Baxter, performing the world premiere recording of his piece "Edgefield". In 2016 they performed the world premiere of "The River" for the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society a piece written for them by the notable guitarist and composer Ronald Pearl.
In addition to running the guitar program at Towson University, Troy King has two commercially released recordings: "Musique de Salon: Classical Guitar Music for a New Belle Epoque” (released in 2000 on the IGW label), and “Musica del Arte: Masterworks for Guitar by Latin Composers” (released in 2005 on Centaur Records). Troy won First Prize at the Fifth Portland Guitar Festival International Guitar Competition, the Lamont Chamber Music Competition, the Montpelier Recitalist Competition, and was a Finalist in the IV Manuel Ponce International Guitar Competition in Mexico City. He holds performance degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Holmquist, and from the University of Denver, where he was the teaching assistant to Ricardo Iznaola. www.troyvking.com
Ms. Murray has won the Rising Stars Recital Competition and has received a Maryland State Arts Council Grant (for her debut recording), the Levine Faculty Development Grant, the Peabody Career Development Grant, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival's Perfoming Associate Award, and has been a three-time recipient of the Levine Performance Grant. Of her debut recording, "Arabesques", released on Centaur Records, Al Kunze of Soundboard Magazine wrote, “Murray is a strong, precise, and yet lyrical player. It is nice to make her musical acquaintance.” She is also featured on "Songs and Arias by Garth Baxter", on which she plays the voice and guitar works of composer Garth Baxter with soprano Katherine Keem. Ms. Murray received a bachelor’s degree from the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver where she was a scholarship student of the renowned guitarist and pedagogue, Ricardo Iznaola, and a Master’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where she studied with Julian Gray She currently teaches at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore and maintains a significant home studio. www.kathrinmurray.com
Of their recording, American Record Guide wrote, "The Arabesque Duo plays beautifully on this recording, with a lovely tone and tasteful expressiveness...masterly Apollonian style." The recording on the Centaur record label includes piano music by Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy, Johannes Brahms, Joaquin Turina and Enrique Granados transcribed for two guitars. They are also featured on a recording of music by composer Garth Baxter, performing the world premiere recording of his piece "Edgefield". In 2016 they performed the world premiere of "The River" for the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society a piece written for them by the notable guitarist and composer Ronald Pearl.
In addition to running the guitar program at Towson University, Troy King has two commercially released recordings: "Musique de Salon: Classical Guitar Music for a New Belle Epoque” (released in 2000 on the IGW label), and “Musica del Arte: Masterworks for Guitar by Latin Composers” (released in 2005 on Centaur Records). Troy won First Prize at the Fifth Portland Guitar Festival International Guitar Competition, the Lamont Chamber Music Competition, the Montpelier Recitalist Competition, and was a Finalist in the IV Manuel Ponce International Guitar Competition in Mexico City. He holds performance degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Holmquist, and from the University of Denver, where he was the teaching assistant to Ricardo Iznaola. www.troyvking.com
Ms. Murray has won the Rising Stars Recital Competition and has received a Maryland State Arts Council Grant (for her debut recording), the Levine Faculty Development Grant, the Peabody Career Development Grant, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival's Perfoming Associate Award, and has been a three-time recipient of the Levine Performance Grant. Of her debut recording, "Arabesques", released on Centaur Records, Al Kunze of Soundboard Magazine wrote, “Murray is a strong, precise, and yet lyrical player. It is nice to make her musical acquaintance.” She is also featured on "Songs and Arias by Garth Baxter", on which she plays the voice and guitar works of composer Garth Baxter with soprano Katherine Keem. Ms. Murray received a bachelor’s degree from the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver where she was a scholarship student of the renowned guitarist and pedagogue, Ricardo Iznaola, and a Master’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where she studied with Julian Gray She currently teaches at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore and maintains a significant home studio. www.kathrinmurray.com
