Katherine MurdockKatherine 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鈥檚 a dream home designed by Murdock鈥檚 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.

鈥淔ayetteville is a charming college town in a beautiful natural setting, sort of like Lawrence in the mountains,鈥 said Murdock. 鈥淭here will be much in the environment and community to keep us busy.鈥

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 黑洞社区 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.

鈥淚t started out small and grew to include nearly the whole School of Music and a week of concerts and activities,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 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.鈥

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鈥 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 鈥渢he abundance and high quality of the music making.鈥

But it鈥檚 time to take life a little easier, she said.

鈥淲e hope to travel 鈥 we love road trips 鈥 and undertake various art projects,鈥 said Murdock. 鈥淲e hope to have more time to read. We will not set our alarm clock.鈥