ORGAN AND CHORAL MUSIC

Theodore Morrison

Theodore Morrison began composing at the age of forty-two, twenty years after he was well established as a conductor and pedagogue. He has composed an epic choral symphony, War and Reconciliation, other large works for voices and orchestra, and shorter pieces including chamber works, organ music, song cycles, and choral pieces. Morrison's song cycle Chamber Music was commissioned by countertenor David Daniels and premiered by Mr. Daniels and pianist Martin Katz on an eleven-city American tour in 2002. Daniels and Katz have performed Chamber Music on concert tours throughout North America and Europe.

Oscar, an opera on the subject of Oscar Wilde's trial and imprisonment, is Morrison's latest work. The Santa Fe Opera and The Opera Company of Philadelphia commissioned Morrison and the eminent English stage director John Cox to create the opera. Starring David Daniels in the title role, Oscar will receive its world premiere in 2013 at The Santa Fe Opera, and its East Coast premiere in Philadelphia in 2015. The publisher of Oscar is G. Schirmer, Inc.

At age nineteen, Morrison began his professional career as organist-choirmaster at Baltimore's Cathedral of the Incarnation, a post he held for ten years. In 1966 he founded the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and served as its music director for sixteen seasons. Under his leadership, BCAS became one of the most respected independent choral/orchestral organizations in the United States. He was director of choral music and conductor of the chamber orchestra at Peabody Conservatory from 1975-1978 and held a similar post at Smith College from 1981-1987. As a member of the faculty of The University of Michigan's School of Music from 1987-2005 he served as director of university choirs and director of graduate studies in conducting.