Murrough Connolly is an award-winning composer and guitarist from Tralee, Co Kerry. Currently based in Manchester, his music often begins and ends at the guitar and seeks to uncover new avenues for harmonic exploration. In December 2023, he completed his PhD in Music Composition at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Prof. Camden Reeves, where his work with harmony revealed a unique perspective on the overtone series and post-spectral music. Several of his works for larger ensembles have also investigated how subjective perceptions of visual colours can inspire harmonic colours. Post PhD, Murrough has turned his focus to performing and composing new works for guitar and collaborating with artists outside of the UK.

Murrough’s works have been performed by a wide range of outstanding performers and ensembles from the UK, Ireland and the USA, including: Psappha Ensemble, Quatuor Danel, The Carducci Quartet, Somnium Chamber Choir, Katherine Hunka and The Irish Guitar Quartet. In 2022, he was selected for Psappha Ensemble’s ‘Composing for Piano’ Scheme and the Peter Reynolds Composer Studio, a one-week composer residency run by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. In 2023,  he was one of three composers to win the 2023 West Cork Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition with his string quartet, Ildaite. He was also a finalist in Festival Musical Durtal’s International Piano Composition Competition. 

Murrough has received commissions from Dr. Kelsey Paquin and Dr. Aileen Razey, the UCC Singers, the Kerry School of Music and The SCS Killaloe Music Festival. His violin duo Imperium was premiered at the Festival and broadcast by RTE Lyric FM on ‘The Full Score with Liz Nolan’ Show on 15 May 2023. His latest work for solo piano, From A Railway Carriage, was commissioned by Mary Dullea (supported by Arts Council Ireland) and premiered at the 2026 Chamber Music on Valentia festival.

Murrough is an associate composer represented by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland (CMC) and his works are documented and disseminated as part of their collection. As an Assistant Project Manager at Welocalize Ltd, Murrough enjoys leading an international teams of metadata specialists and curating classical music content of the highest quality for one of the world’s largest streaming platforms.