Originally from Derry, John Murphy studied viola at the Royal College of Music in London. John has enjoyed a varied freelance career working with many British orchestras such as English National Opera, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. He has performed all over the world from Chile to China, Jamaica to Jordan. He was a member of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for ten years where he was involved in many of their education and outreach programmes. This included the first ensemble for people with dementia and their carers, the BUDI Orchestra. He moved back to Ireland in 2019 and works regularly with Camerata Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.