Brant Murray

Brant Murray is a Teaching Associate Professor and Chair of the Lighting Design & Technology program. At the University, he is actively engaged in leadership and student wellness as a Faculty Fellow in the Illinois Leadership Center and as a Level 1 Mental Health Ambassador.  Brant is also certified in Adult Mental Health First Aid USA through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.  He has over 30 years of experience as a lighting designer, educator, production manager, and consultant. His design work spans almost every genre: theatre, dance, musicals, opera, concerts, live events, architectural, television, and fashion. Here at Krannert Center, Brant was the lighting designer for “Joy of Regathering,” a cross-disciplinary collaboration with the Beckman Institute, the Departments of Theatre, Chemistry, Dance, and Physics, and the School of Music.

As an author, Brant is the co-recipient (with Dr. K. Camille Murray) of the USITT Herbert D. Greggs Honor Award 2024 for the peer-reviewed article “Placing Emotional Intelligence Center Stage: A centralized and coherent focus on emotional intelligence during the production process can build a more sustainable future and ensure stronger future leaders.” in Theatre Design & Technology magazine.  Previous publications and writings include “Pivoting and Persevering: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faced down the monumental pandemic challenge and created theatre anyway. Here’s how.” in Theatre Design & Technology magazine, and “Pesta and the Boatman” for the Illinois Theatre production FOLXTALES.

Brant is the Resident Designer for Peridance Contemporary Dance Company (New York City) under the direction of Igal Perry, the Resident Designer for Maria Caruso’s Bodiography (Pittsburgh), a Senior Designer for C & C Lighting (Pittsburgh), and has been an Associate Artist with Ping Chong + Company (New York City) and a Designer for IMCD Lighting (New York City). In addition to working across the nation from Vermont to Wyoming, international touring includes productions in Argentina, Bulgaria, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, and South Korea.  Recent collaborations in the world of dance include Robert Battle, Jessica Lang, Ohad Naharin, Sidra Bell, Yue Yin, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and Martha Graham Dance Company.

Previous projects range from the award-winning Macy’s Herald Square Holiday Windows to New York Fashion Week, and Off-Broadway musicals. For almost ten years, Brant held senior level management positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as a Technical Supervisor and Designer for Lincoln Center Education, and then as the Production Manager for one of the newest venues at Lincoln Center: the David Rubinstein Atrium. He worked with an international array of artists including the Tokyo String Quartet, Meredith Monk, Kelli O’Hara, Emmanuel Ax, and many others. At the David Rubenstein Atrium, Brant oversaw the installation of “Barbie’s Dream House” for New York Fashion Week and Christian Marclay’s 24-hour video art installation “The Clock.”

Brant received his MFA in Lighting Design from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and his BS in Architecture (Drama Minor) from the University of Virginia School of Architecture. He is a member of USITT and United Scenic Artists Local USA 829, where he is a member of the National Lighting Design Committee.