William Bolcom and Joan Morris

September 30, 2009 12:00pm, VisTaTech Center

Traversing Broadway, vaudeville and music hall, performing music from the ragtime era to the end of the 20th century, the duo of William Bolcom and Joan Morris have delighted audiences across the United States and around the world for many years.

Named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America, Bolcom is a composer of cabaret songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, symphonies, and much more. He was awarded the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Twelve New Etudes for piano. As a pianist he has recorded for Advance, Jazzology, Musical Heritage, Nonesuch, Vox, and Omega. Since 1973 Joan Morris has concertized with her husband and accompanist, William Bolcom. In the words of the Chicago Tribune, “Her voice is notable for ease, flexibility, expressiveness; you understand every word she sings, and in these songs the words deserve to be heard. She projects not just a song, but the character singing it, and gives that character her own irresistibly funny and winning personality.”

On their travels throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad, Joan Morris and William Bolcom frequently give master classes focusing on “classic American popular song.” Recent residencies have been at Rice University (Houston, TX), Central Washington University (Ellensburg, WA), the Virginia Arts Festival, Tanglewood, and the University of Evansville (IN).

http://www.bolcomandmorris.com