Thank you for carrying us through the most difficult of days – you
brought us a rainbow after the devastating storm…

The passing of Willie Murphy, my dear Dad, and Grandad to Sorcha, has been an immeasurable loss to our family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and of course to our extended family at Mezzo Music Academy.

On the way to Dad’s beautiful Humanist service, the funeral cortège passed by Mezzo on Greenlea Road. My family was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up to salute dad. His many students and their families stood in a guard of honour raising their guitars to the sky, paying tribute to his life and his wonderful teaching over the years. I opened the window to let
in all the love you projected that day – it truly gave us immense comfort and lifted our very heavy hearts in an unimaginable way. Dad would never have believed you all stood there for him, in his honour…such was his modest and unassuming nature, so Thank you all, from the bottom of our broken hearts. To those of you who sent us such kind and beautiful messages & stories of Willie, you have brought great strength and support to our family at this very sad time.

 

 

Willie taught hundreds of students at Mezzo over the last 10 years, but he made an impact on every single person who came through the door. His beautiful soul and his inspiring music will linger in the corridors forever.

When Mezzo was founded almost 10 years ago, the first 2 people who rocked up to my Launch Day, were Mom and Dad. Over the coming weeks, we convinced Dad to teach guitar at the school and he subsequently ended up being the most accomplished and popular teacher we have ever had!

His legacy… his students … his music in the building… the recitals… the arrangements…. the rehearsals – he was part of it all.
I had to keep reminding myself of his age… not many people could say they watched their Dad on stage in his 70’s playing his electric and acoustic guitar with as much enthusiasm, finesse, and precision as he did in his 20’s!

He spent countless hours working out chords to songs and tabbing the riffs and solos for his students. He was so dedicated and hell-bent on working out every single note to perfection. Nothing was too much for Dad when it came to his students and their music tuition.

He has the nicest room in Mezzo where my sister Maria painted on the wall, the lyrics “Here Comes the Sun”. This is one of Dad’s all-time favorite songs. Dad, Maria, and I played this song together at his grandniece’s wedding too, so it really has a lovely sentiment for our family and of course his Mezzo Family. We poignantly used this song for the opening music at his
funeral service.

Dad was immensely proud of his children and grandchildren. I stood with him many a time backstage when our live performances were taking place, and observed him with the greatest pleasure, enjoying his children and grandchildren performing live on stage.

Our team at Mezzo will sincerely miss having cups of tea and chats with Dad on their breaks. They will treasure his wise words and the friendly advice he gave them over the years. His willingness to do this came naturally to him. Dad created a calm and loving feeling around him, everywhere he went. Our teachers, students, parents, and Mezzo family will miss him terribly.

I would like to thank Sorcha and my amazing team who have carried the torch for me over the last few weeks while I have taken some time out to heal and to look after my family. My dad would never have wanted us to close the academy as a mark of respect to him…on the contrary, he would have wanted the summer camps & music lessons to go ahead as planned. Dad would never want to deprive a young child of the opportunity to learn music, so that said, we will be continuing with our Outdoor Music Camps in
August, led by our wonderful staff, and inspired by my exceptional Dad Willie.

Willie’s love for music will live on in the hearts of his family, friends, students, and colleagues. We are all truly blessed and honoured to have had such a special man in our lives.

Thank you for the music and your love, Sonya