Assistant Professor of Percussion
Fine Arts 115
907-474-1873
mspalter@alaska.edu

Born in Canada, Morris's wide-range of musical interests have found him performing in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe at some of the most prestigious festivals and concert venues including Disney Hall, the Soeul Arts Center, Lincoln Center, the Stadsschouwburg Zaal, IRCAM, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Morris is a frequent guest at universities and conservatories worldwide and has commissioned and/or premiered over 100 compositions.

In 2000, Morris co-founded NOISE (San Diego New Music), and was a member of the percussion group redfish bluefish (Artistic Director, Steven Schick) from 1999-2005. Two other important collaborations include the Speak-Easy Duo (with guitarist, Colin McAllister), and Metasax and DRUMthings (with Matthew Burtner). Morris is also actively involved with theatre, having been a composer and performer at both The Old Globe Theatre and the Tony Award winning La Jolla Playhouse.

Morris is the Artistic Director of Ensemble 64.8 (University of Alaska Fairbanks resident percussion lab). The group performs chamber music with an emphasis on works by noted American and European composers. Some of the composers represented in the ensemble repertory include Steve Reich, John Cage, Toru Takemitsu, John Wyre, Louis Andreissen, Vinko Globokar, Robin Engelman, Iannis Xenakis, John Luther Adams, Giacinto Scelsi, Carlos Chavez, Erik Griswold, and Henry Cowell. The group has also performed concerts with famed performers/composers Matthew Burtner, Anders Astrand, Christopher Adler, and Bob Becker.

Morris was a member of the UAF Faculty Senate from 2009-2011 (CLA "At Large") and is the Artistic Director for the University of Alaska Fairbanks New Music Festival, and Co-Artistic Director for the soundON Festival of Modern Music held yearly in San Diego. Morris is a member of the Percussive Arts Society New Music/Research Committee and was the host of PASIC's Focus Day 2010. He is also published in PAS journal, and Mellen Press, and is currently endorsed by Black Swamp Percussion, and Paiste Cymbals and Gongs. Morris is also a Yamaha Performing Artist and can be heard on New World Records, Vienna Modern Masters, Tzadik Records, Mode Records, Innova, RCA/BMG and his solo CD was released on Centaur Records in 2006. Morris earned degrees from the University of Toronto, the Royal Conservatory, The Hague, and the University of California, San Diego where he graduated with his doctorate of musical arts degree in 2005. Morris was a Lecturer in Music at UCSD during the 2006/07 academic-year and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Recent engagements included faculty positions at both the Alaska Midnight Sun Chamber Percussion Intensive with Bob Becker (Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival) and the Roots and Rhizomes percussion residency program at the Banff Centre for the Arts with Steven Schick, Bob Becker, and Jean-Paul Bernard (August 2011). Please visit www.morrispalter.org for more information.