Murray Charles Bradshaw

Dr. Murray C. Bradshaw passed away on September 5, 2018, peacefully in the care of hospital care personnel and his step-children in Thousand Oaks, California. This was two months after the passing of his beloved Sharon Ann to whom he was married for over twenty years. Dr. Murray Charles Bradshaw was born September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Quigley High School and later worked as a boy’s choir while attending the University of Chicago. He earned a Master of Music in Piano from the American Conservatory Music in Chicago (1955), a Master of Music in Organ from the American Conservatory Music in Chicago (1958), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology from the University of Chicago (1969). He taught at the University of California Los Angeles for thirty-eight years and was the primary organist at the Christian Science Church in Woodland Hills, CA.

Murray Bradshaw was the former Chair of Musicology at UCLA, and was the author of several books and scholarly editions of music, including The Origin of the Toccata (1972), The Falsobordone: A Study in Renaissance and Baroque Music (1978), and Early Sacred Monody (4 vols; 1985-). His translation and study of Giovanni Luca Conforti's Breve et facile maniera s'essercitarsi(1593) appeared in 1998, and an earlier facsimile edition and translation, with Edward J. Sohnlen, of Girolamo Diruta's Il Transilvano (1593, 1603) appeared in 1983 and 1984. Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di anima e di corpo (1600), the first dramatic composition sung throughout, appeared in 2007 as the fourth volume of his series on "Early Sacred Monody." He has published numerous articles in many scholarly journals as well as compositions for the organ. He also served as the general editor of "Musicological Studies and Documents" and the "Miscellanea" series for the American Institute of Musicology.

Dr. Murray C. Bradshaw is survived by his first wife Doris and his children, Jean, Murray Edward, and Thomas and his step children, Dub, Robert, Paul and Suzanne, as well as numerous grandchildren and step-grandchildren.