Murray Hidary

Murray Hidary (born August 30, 1971) is a composer, visual artist, and tech entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York.

He is currently focused on his immersive music experience, MindTravel, bringing it to audiences across the globe. He is the pioneer of the “silent” piano concerts through the use of wireless headphones for live piano concerts. Additionally, he has created unique experiences like Underwater Floating Meditations and SilentWalking Meditations in parks and Museums.

Over the past five years, Murray has created over 500 MindTravel experiences for over 100,000 people in cities from Los Angeles to London, Paris to Pittsburgh, Berlin to Boulder; in venues such as Lincoln Center, The Theater at the Ace Hotel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Grace Cathedral, and The National Arts Club.

MindTravel has been featured in over 50 media outlets including The Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, MindBodyGreen, and Forbes Magazine, as well as on the TV show The Doctors.

Hidary’s signature MindTravel SilentWalk (™) experience was rolled out in 2019 with a 22-city tour across North America with experiences in: New York City; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Lexington, KY; Nashville; Dallas; Austin; Memphis; Toronto; Montreal; Detroit; Los Angeles; San Diego; Santa Barbara; San Francisco; Portland; Seattle; Boulder, CO;  and more.[1]

Hidary had planned a 70-city SilentWalk tour for 2020 but the tour was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Hidary’s music endeavors are supported by The MindTravel Foundation[3] which brings music and healing to underserved communities such as elderly care centers, addiction centers, and hospitals.

Hidary is a Certified Meditation Teacher through the Vedic Center and a Certified Grief Counselor through Our House Grief Support Center.[4]

Business career

EarthWeb/Dice Inc.

Murray Hidary began his business career in 1994 at the age of 23 when he co-founded EarthWeb with his older brother, Jack Hidary and Nova Spivack.[5] While EarthWeb was one of the first internet consulting companies, it shifted focus in 1997 when Tristan Louis was brought in to turn the company into an IT information portal called developer.com.[6] EarthWeb's initial public offering on November 11, 1998 closed at US$48.69 per share, up 247.8% from its opening price of $14.[7] At the time, EarthWeb's first-day return was among the largest in NASDAQ history.[8]

In 2000, EarthWeb changed its name to Dice Inc,[9] taking the company private and renaming itself after its flagship property dice.com, the leading career website for technology and engineering professionals[10] In 2005 private equity firms Quadrangle and General Atlantic Partners acquired Dice Inc. for approximately US$200 million.[11] Dice Inc. subsequently went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007 and trades under the ticker symbol DHX.[12]

Murray Hidary left the company in January 2001, but continued to serve on the board through April 2002.[13]

Vista Research

In 2001 Hidary co-founded Vista Research with his brother Jack Hidary. The firm pioneered the field of expert network research providers, catering to top-tier investment funds. Vista Research provides hedge fund and asset managers with access to an extensive network of experts in industries including technology, media, telecommunications, energy, aerospace and healthcare.[14]

In April 2005 the company was acquired by the Standard & Poor’s division of McGraw-Hill. [15][16] In 2009 McGraw-Hill sold Vista Research to Guidepoint Global, a global consulting and research firm.[17]

iAmplify

Murray Hidary and Jack Hidary founded iAmplify in 2005. iAmplify is a Web-based content publisher and syndication network for professionals in a broad range of fields. The site features simple tools for use by specialists to distribute their media. Users range from individuals to large corporations.[18] iAmplify has established prominent partnerships with Bloomberg,[19] David Allen,[20] Yoga Journal,[21] Marianne Williamson,[22] Condé Nast’s Golf Digest,[23] and Eckhart Tolle.[24]

With pressure on the publishing industry mounting, Hidary was one of the first to envision taking readers “beyond the book,” and provide a platform for authors to forge a direct relationship with their audience.[25]

Primary Insight

In 2009 Murray Hidary re-entered the expert network industry with Primary Insight. The Hidary Group backed a management buyout of Primary Insight from JP Morgan led by former colleagues, David DeRose and Leighton Thomas.

Primary Insight is a leading provider of a vast network of experts in all industries and caters to some of the world’s largest hedge funds and institutional investors.[26]

eBillity

Murray is also the co-founder of eBillity, a cloud-based SaaS platform used by freelancers, IT professionals, lawyers, accountants, creative professionals, and small business owners. The web-based and mobile tool helps professionals quickly and accurately track, manage, and bill their time.

Music career

Murray Hidary majored in Music and Composition at NYU. After college he continued his musical pursuits in parallel with his business ambitions. His primary compositional mentor was Paul Alan Levi. Additional influences include composers of the minimalist movement including Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich, as well as, the contrapuntal techniques from the Baroque period. In his music, he employs many organic mathematical processes as well as a layering technique that creates a rich and textured effect.

Hidary recorded his first symphony in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2004. Entitled Motion, it was performed by The St. Petersburg Philharmonic and conducted by Paul Alan Levi.[27]

Hidary composed the score for the documentary called REM about architect Rem Koolhaas which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2016.[28]

Original compositions include
  • Motion, symphony for strings and two sopranos

Conducted by: Paul Alan Levi Performed by: The St. Petersburg Philharmonic

  • Spinning Still, for eight strings

Conducted by: Paul Alan Levi

Performed by: ETHEL & Friends - Kenji Bunch (viola), Malrl Dorman-Planeuf (cello), Neil Duffallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Ariana Kim (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello), Mary Rowell (violin), and Wendy Sutter (cello)

  • In Solitude, for solo piano

Performed by: Paolo Tatafiore

  • As you Like, duet for shakuhachi (Japanese flue) and violin

Performed by: Yoshio Kurahashi (shakuhachi) and Eaisun Shin (violin)

  • Piano Quintet 1+4, piano improvisations with string quartet

Performed by: ETHEL & Murray Hidary at the Crest Theater, Los Angeles. [29]

MindTravel

Hidary is the creator of MindTravel.[30]

Experiential music company, MindTravel, presents its signature Live-to-Headphones ‘Silent’ Piano, SilentHike and Floating Meditation experiences throughout the year on gorgeous beaches, in beautiful parks and other stunning outdoor spaces such as the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and in iconic spaces such as Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Murray created the first MindTravel experience in 2013. He invited a group to his living room for a live performance of his provocative, improvisational, real-time compositions at the piano and then asked them what they thought of the experience. Moved by their emotional response and the power of music to take the group on a deep inner journey, he moved forward to bring it to the world.

Whether it’s for 100 people or 1000 people, this magical experience takes audiences on a profound journey as composer and pianist Murray Hidary’s real-time compositions are beamed directly into the MindTravel headphones that the audience wears. It’s a perfect way to take in the majestic surroundings while also experiencing a musical revelation spontaneously improvised, infused with wisdom traditions, theoretical physics and the power of communal elevation.

At its core, MindTravel creates the space and permission to feel and connect. It is an exploration of the notion that bringing the lessons of music into our daily lives can radically improve our clarity, our ability to reflect and relax, and that with music as our teacher – we can peel back layers of our Self yet unseen.

Photography career

Murray Hidary first began experimenting with photography during a cross-country road trip when he was 17 years old. He continued his travel and nature photography after his first semester at NYU, when at the age of 18, he took a leave of absence from college and spent 8 months riding a bicycle over 10,000 miles throughout Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.[31]

Hidary’s work has garnered wide praise, regularly appears in gallery and museum exhibitions, and is held in many private collections. His photography has appeared in myriad group shows including the San Francisco MoMA’s 15th Biennial Auction (San Francisco, CA), at the Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY), and the San Diego Art Institute (San Diego, CA). Solo exhibitions of Hidary’s work have been featured at Atelier (New York, NY), Metro Gallery (Reno, NV), Karpeles Museum (Santa Barbara, CA), East Link Gallery (Shanghai, China), and the Nabokov Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia).

Hidary’s work is also part of Art Pic’s collection of available pieces in Los Angeles, CA. Through Art Pic, Hidary’s photographs have been featured in movies and television including FOX’s House, CBS’s Numbers and NBC’s Joey, and films such as My Best Friend’s Girl and Unhitched. Hidary’s work also appeared in a Revlon advertisement and a Nikon television ad campaign featuring Ashton Kutcher, as well as the flagship Ralph Lauren store in New York, NY.[32]

In June, 2015, he won 1st Place, Still LIfe[33] at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, International Photography Competition.

Hidary currently incorporates his photographic work into MindTravel as visual art projections. Sourced from Murray’s personal photographic work, the MindTravel visual projections used in theater settings allow for a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience. The stilled ‘movements’ are woven together into fluid and animated tapestries through algorithms designed to dynamically reflect the live music. The music and sounds intertwine effortlessly, with the intention of leading the audience to what lies beneath the surface.[34]

Hidary’s photography process is outlined in this video on youtube (link) and he views it like music, like a moving meditation.

Philanthropy and other pursuits

Hidary is a member of several philanthropic boards. His continued love of music led him to ETHEL, a contemporary “postclassical” string quartet, for whom he now serves as Chairman Emeritus. ETHEL has also performed original works by Murray Hidary including Spinning Still in 2006 and his Piano Quintet in 2015.[35] Additionally, Hidary is on the board of Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA (CAP UCLA).

In 2006 NYU awarded Murray Hidary the Distinguished Service Award. The text of his commencement acceptance speech is available here.

Outside of Hidary’s business and artistic pursuits, he travels extensively. He has also trained for and completed three marathons: New York City 2007, New York City 2008,[36] and London 2007.[37] He has a passion for the environment and supports alternative energy.

References
  1. "SilentHike Receives a Rainy Welcome in Seattle". Seattle Magazine. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  2. "Silent walk takes hikers on meditative mind trip through Austin wildflower gardens". CultureMap Austin. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  3. "The MindTravel Foundation". The MindTravel Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  4. "ABOUT". MindTravel. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  5. Michael Intergaard (2004).Silicon Alley: the Rise and Fall of a New Media District(Psychology Press) p. 63["https://books.google.com/books?id=ha0gTXusFfIC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=earthweb,+founded,+spivack+%2B+hidary&source=bl&ots=8WN5QoMA3Q&sig=ypAyFHW-zRHmTPBLDklRWh38_qg&hl=en&ei=YeurTIm6L4GB8ga1nPixCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CC4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=earthweb%2C]
  6. AtNewYork Staff, April 11, 1997 Earthweb shifts gears, turns publisher
  7. Computergram International (1998-11-12)“Eartweb IPO a Huge Hit on Nasdaq,” BNET. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  8. David Lazarus (1998-11-11), “Net Stock Frenzy Goes Flat,” Wired. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  9. (2001-04-17). “EarthWeb Inc. to Become Dice Inc. – Nasdaq Ticker Symbol to Become ‘DICE’,” PRNewsire. Retrieved 2010-10-05
  10. Jayson Blair (2000-12-27). “EarthWeb Selling Most of Its Web Site and News Services,” New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-05
  11. Rafat Ali (2005-07-13). “Dice Acquired by Private Equity Firms,” paidContent.org. Retrieved: 2010-10-05
  12. Rafat Ali (2007-04-07). “Dice.com Parent Files for $100 Million IPO,” paidContent.org. Retrieved: 2010-10-05
  13. Murray Hidary LinkedIn Profile
  14. (2001-09-10). “Vista Research: Security Spending Continues to Increase but Companies Cannibalize IT Budgets to Pay the Bill,” PRNewswire. Retrieved: 2010-10-05
  15. (2005-03-14). “S&P gets on independent research bandwagon with Vista acquisition,” Electronic Information Report. Highbeam Business. Retrieved 2010-10-05
  16. Michael Privitera (2005-03-04). “Standard & Poor’s Signs Agreement to Acquire Vista Research Move Enhances S&P Research Platform for Institutional Investors,” PRNewswire. Retrieved 2010-10-05 Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
  17. (2009-06-01). “McGraw-Hill sells Vista Research to Guidepoint Global,” Business Publisher. Retrieved 2010-10-05
  18. iAmplify. Retrieved 2010-10-06
  19. Bloomberg iAmplify partner page
  20. David Allen iAmplify partner page
  21. Yoga Journal iAmplify partner page
  22. Marianne Williamson iAmplify partner page
  23. Nat Ives (2010-10-01). “Condé Nast edges into selling videos on demand,” Crain’s New York Business.com. Retrieved 2010-10-06
  24. Eckhart Tolle iAmplify partner page
  25. Adrienne Mand Lewin. “Murray Hidary: An Exclusive Interview with the CEO and co-founder of iAmplify,” Wordsmitten.com. Retrieved 2010-10-06
  26. Primary Insight
  27. Music Bridges International
  28. koolhaas, tomas (2013-09-24), OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR 'REM' DOCUMENTARY in Architecture, retrieved 2020-06-21
  29. Murray Hidary Original Music
  30. http://www.mindtravel.be [Mind Travel]
  31. Murray Hidary (2006-05-09). “Distinguished Service Award Aceptance Speech – New York University,” Murray Hidary. Retrieved 2010-20-06 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2010-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  32. http://murrayhidary.com/murrays-work-featured-at-flagship-ralph-lauren-store-in-nyc/ Archived 2015-06-20 at the Wayback Machine [Exhibit at Ralph Lauren in NYC]
  33. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) [International Photography Competition 2015 winners]
  34. "ABOUT". MindTravel. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  35. Ethel
  36. NYC Marathon Results
  37. London Marathon Results
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