April 4, 2025
When Oakland University sophomore and music major Ethan McMurray posted a classical composition about a grilled mushroom on his Instagram account, he never expected it would become a viral sensation that would attract more than 10 million views and an interview on The Today Show website.
“Honestly, I just posted the video for fun,” McMurray said. “I played it for some of my peers a couple of days before I posted it, and because they liked it so much, I thought maybe others would like to see it. I really love that so many people showed interest in classical music.”
After watching a TikTok of a mushroom “singing” a pentatonic melody as it is grilled on a cone on a Beijing-style hotpot, McMurray was inspired to created his own video. Within a few days, his “little mushroom symphony” had received more than 8 million views on Instagram, as well as hundreds of thousands of likes, comments and shares, with many users comparing the piece to the score from a Disney film.
The viral video also caught the attention of Joseph Lamour, a journalist with NBC’s Today.com website.
“He reached out to me and told me that he loved the video,” McMurray said. “Later that night, I did an over-the-phone interview and the article was published two days later on The Today Show website. When he introduced himself to me over the phone, I had to pinch myself because I could not believe I was talking to someone about a video I had posted less than a week ago. I will not soon forget the experience.”
McMurray, a violinist who plays in the Oakland Chamber Orchestra and sings in the Oakland Chorale, has had a passion for music for as far back as he can remember.
“Growing up, I was always making up my own little melodies,” he said. “One day, when I was a sophomore in high school, I decided to start writing them down. My first symphony orchestra piece premiered in 2023 and since then my love for composition has only grown. This past year, I wrote two pieces that both premiered in February with the chamber orchestra at Oakland. Currently, I’m working on an array of pieces for both the chamber orchestra and symphony.”
During his time at OU, McMurray has studied violin with Applied Instructor of Violin Elizabeth Rowin and voice with Distinguished Professor of Music John-Paul White. Last year, he began studying composition under Terry Herald, a music audio technology lecturer and composition mentor, to learn more about composition.
“Our sessions are a pure delight to me as a teacher, since he brings a multitude of fresh ideas to each meeting, sometimes showing me three or four major compositions he has begun that week,” Herald said. “We discuss how to develop and expand his ideas, different ways to create variations, and how to effectively use all of the sounds of a symphony orchestra. His technical skills as an orchestrator have exploded and I look forward to each meeting to hear where his musical imagination has taken him.”
Herald said he had been encouraging McMurray to post some of his projects to social media, and was thrilled when McMurray told him that one of his posts on Instagram has more than 8 million views.
“I am, of course, immensely proud of him,” Herald said. “I believe that this is just his first step in establishing an amazing career as a composer.”
When he isn’t busy composing, McMurray said he enjoys reading, performing in musical theatre, and watching the Harry Potter films.
“I grew up reading the Harry Potter books, and so then watching the movies with all of (John Williams’) scores, I think it’s a huge reason why I love composition so much,” he said. “I think for everyone, musician or not, the nostalgia a classical score can bring is unmatched.”
To see what he does next, you can follow McMurray on Instagram (@ethanmcmurray).
To learn more about the Department of Music at Oakland University, visit www.oakland.edu/smtd/programs-and-majors/music.