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Lawrence
D. "Butch" Morris is one of the leading innovators
in the confluence of jazz, new music, improvisation and
contemporary classical music internationally. Morris' work
redefines the roles of composer, conductor, arranger, and
performer, and bridges the gap between composer-improviser and
the classically-contexted musician. His 27-year career is
distinguished for work in theatre, dance, film, video,
television, interdisciplinary projects, and the concert and
recording settings, both in the United States and abroad. As a
composer, he is known for his notated compositions, as well as
the pioneering of Conduction (conducted improvisation); his
performance-based collaborations with other creator-improvisors;
and his composer/conductor role in various ensembles.
Morris'
interdisciplinary projects have constantly broken new ground. He
has collaborated with such choreographers as Min Tanaka, Fred
Holland, Dianne McIntyre, Sally Silvers, and Donna Uchizono;
visual artists A.R. Penck, David Hammons, Markus Luperts and
Alison Saar; writers Allan Graubard, Jessica Hagedorn, Ntozake
Shange and Sekou Sundiata; and theatre artists Avery Brooks and
Harold Scott. He has also worked with countless
musicians/composers including Alice Coltrane, Gil Evans, Philly
Joe Jones, Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy,
David Murray, Don Pullen and Reggie Workman.
Morris
has been funded by numerous organizations that support the arts,
including the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the
Composer/Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the Deutscher
Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Berlin, Germany, Meet the
Composer/Rockefeller Foundation/AT&T Jazz Program, Mary
Flagler Cary Trust, the City of Berlin, Germany, and the New York
Foundation on the Arts Music Fellowship Program, among others. He
also has frequently been cited in Downbeat Magazine's Critics
Poll as "Composer and Arranger Deserving Wider
Recognition".
Resume Overview of Major
Works
1998
Conduction # 92, Taller de Music Festival, Barcelona, Spain,
January.
Tokyo Skyscraper Tour, Minneapolis, MN-Atlanta, GA-Tempe-AZ, New
York, NY, March.
Triple Skyscraper Project, Tokyo-Istanbul- New York at Tribeca
Performing Arts Center New York, NY, April.
Conduction # 101, Albuqurke, NM, April.
Visiting Lecturer, Composer in residence, Mills College, Oakland,
CA April.
Conducted the David Murray Big Band, Verona, Italy, May.
Conducted the David Murray Big Band, Moers, Germany, Big Band
plus Izmir Symphony, Izmir, Turkey, June.
Conducted the New Orchestra Workshop, Vancouver BC, June.
Conducted "Holy Ghost", Texico Music Festival, NY,
June.
Conduction # 104 Barcelona, Spain, September.
Present Affiliation: Visiting Lecturer, Composer in residence,
Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
1997
Conducted the New York Skyscraper in four concerts, New York
City, April.
Conducted the Visions Festival Ensemble, New York City, June.
Conducted the "Double Skyscraper" Projects, Istanbul
and Berlin Skyscraper, Istanbul, Turkey, October.
Conducted the "London Skyscraper" in London,
Birmingham, Oxford, Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool, November.
Guest Lecturer, University of Westminster, London, November.
Guest Lecturer, South Bank Arts Center, London, November.
Guest Conductor of the "Aquarius Ensemble and Big Band
Nieuwe Music," in Eindhoven, Holland, S-Hertogenbosch,
Holland, and Gent, Belgium, November.
Composed and Performed music for the play, "Strasse der
Besten," at the Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany, November.
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