A native of Woodbourne, New York, he holds degrees from the State University of New York at Potsdam (BS Music Education) and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (MM Percussion Performance). His teachers include Raymond Des Roches, Richard Fitz, James Petercsak, Sandy Feldstein, and Bey Perry (organist Jimmy Smith`s drummer). Having subsequently served as co-coordinator of percussion at North Texas State University in Denton, Murray has recently retired from 32 years as a band director and percussion specialist in the public schools of Smithtown, New York.

As a member of the percussion section of the Long Island Symphony under Seymour Lipkin and the Nassau Symphony directed by Andrew Schenk, he has performed with Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Itzak Perlman, Bryon Janis, Stanley Drucker, Julius Baker, Lynn Harrell, and Phil Smith.  He co-founded, wrote for, and performed with the Ambira Mallet Quartet.  Murray performed at Theatre Three as show drummer/percussionist for eight years.  He was drumset player with Art Rollini (formerly with the Benny Goodman band) for seven years.  He endorses Pro-Mark sticks and Grover Pro-Percussion products.

With approximately 220 concert and pedagogic publications to his credit, he has written numerous articles for such professional journals as “Percussive Notes”, "Modern Drummer", "The Instrumentalist", "School Band and Orchestra Magazine", and the “Music Educator’s Journal”. He is a two-time winner of the Percussive Arts Society Composition contest