Dr. BEN MORRIS benmorrismusic.com | bmorriscomposer@gmail.com (+1) 973-722-0460 | 4243 Charlotte St, Kansas City, MO 64110
EDUCATION University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO D.M.A. in Music Composition with ATLAS/Cecil Effinger Technology Fellowship Composition studies with Carter Pann, Annika Socolofsky, and Michael Theodore
2022
Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Houston, TX M.M. in Music Composition with Brown Fellowship Composition studies with Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, and Pierre Jalbert
2017
University of Miami Frost School of Music, Miami, FL B.M. summa cum laude in Music Composition and History with honors Composition studies with Lansing McLoskey, jazz studies with Gary Lindsay, Bryan Lynch, and Martin Bejerano, film music with Carlos Rafael Rivera
2015
TEACHING EXPERIENCE University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO Assistant Professor of Composition
2026-present
Undergraduate and Graduate Courses Applied Composition Lessons, Class Composition I and II, Film Scoring, The Conservatory Plays at the National Toy and Miniature Museum Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX Assistant Professor of Composition
2022-2026
Undergraduate and Graduate Courses Applied Composition Lessons, Orchestration, Jazz and Pop Analysis, Jazz Piano, Jazz Improvisation, Thesis Advising, Music Entrepreneurship, Post-tonal Analysis, Composition Studio Class, and Film Music Master’s Theses: Primary Advisor Nga Ma Chan (2026): “J-Pop Reimagined: A Fusion of the Royal Road Progression and Japanese Pop in Contemporary Orchestral Composition.” Hugh Taylor (2026): “Bass and Drum Grooves in R&B: Analysis and Composition.” Leigha Turner (2026): “Architecture as Frozen Music: An Original Wind Ensemble Work Exploring Architectural Metaphors in Contemporary Music.” Nicholas Knirk (2025): “Spirit Suite: An Original Jazz Manouche Composition for Large Ensemble.” Jason Ronnie Whitt (2025): “Metamorphosis: An Original Jazz Guitar Concerto Exploring Improvisation and Polystylistic Compositional Strategies in the Cross-genre Concerto.” Victorino Perez (2025): “A Comparison of Traditional Típica Style Salsa Piano Accompaniment and Latin Jazz Comping.” Matthew Delcambre (2024): “The Scream Notation System: A Notation System for Screamed Vocals.” Jimmy Bartley (2024): “Digital Orchestration in Media Composition: Creating an Ideal Mockup.” University of Colorado Boulder School of Music, Boulder, CO Instructor of Record Basic Composition, Aural Skills, Applications of Music Technology, and Film Scoring
2019-2022
Boulder Philharmonic Emerging Composers Program, Broomfield, CO 2020-2022 Individual Mentor for emerging composers at Legacy, Skyline, and Boulder High Schools Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Houston, TX 2015-2017 Graduate Assistant and Instructor of Record, Brown Teaching Fellow Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program, GA for Undergraduate Theory, Cross-cultural Asian Music, and Creativity Up Close, and Electronic Music Lab Assistant
Dr. Ben Morris | 1 of 12
SELECTED WORKSHOPS and ADDITIONAL STUDIES NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Composer Mentorship Program
2025-2026
Unheard-of//Ensemble Collaborative Composition Initiative Workshop, San Antonio, TX BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, New York, NY
2025 2024-present
International Trombone Festival Composers Workshop, Fort Worth, TX
2024
Composing in the Wilderness, Denali National Park, AK
2023
Colorado Lullaby Project, Entrepreneurship Center for Music, CU Boulder, CO
2021
CU Boulder New Opera Workshop, mentorship with Gene Scheer and Jake Heggie, CO
2021
Sibelius Academy Creative Dialogue XII Workshop, Santa Fe, NM
2020
Red Note New Music Festival Workshop, Normal, IL
2020
Fulbright Grant, Norwegian Academy of Music, study with Helge Sunde, Oslo, Norway
2017-2018
Aspen Music School, Susan and Ford Schumann Center for Composition Studies, CO
2018
International Gugak Workshop at the National Gugak Center, Seoul, South Korea
2017
University of Nebraska Lincoln Chamber Music Institute Workshop, Lincoln, NE
2017
American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute and Reading Sessions, New York, NY
2016
ARTIST RESIDENCIES Yaddo Artist Residency Fellowship, Saratoga Springs, NY
2026
Visby International Centre for Composers Residency, Visby, Sweden
2026
Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Artist Residency, Taos, NM
2025
Soaring Gardens Artist Residency, Laceyville, PA
2024
ATLAS B2 Creative Residency, Boulder, CO
2023, 2022
I-Park Foundation Residency, East Haddam, CT
2021
Westben Digital Performer-Composer Residency, Campbellford, ON
2020
Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts Residency, Saratoga, WY
2019
The CATWALK Institute Residency, Catskill, NY
2019
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Residency, Nebraska City, NE
2018
SELECTED AWARDS and COMMISSIONS Faculty Scholarly Excellence Award, Mickey Elliot College of Fine Arts, Stephen F. Austin University
2026
Tribeca New Music, Honorable Mention in Division 1 for Stomping Ground
2026
David P. and Susan W. Wohlhueter Jazz Composition Contest, Ithaca College, Honorable men. One Ounce Opera’s 5th Annual Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Opera selected composer nd
2026, 2019 2025
Central Texas SongSlam Competition at Baylor University, 2 prize
2025
Rapido! Competition Finalist and Performance with Atlanta Chamber Players
2024
Musiqa Catalyst Commission
2024
ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composer Awards and performance at the Newport Jazz Festival
2023, 2019
Dairy Arts Center 30 Under 30 Award
2022
Glimmerglass Opera Commission for The Rip Van Winkles
2022
The American Prize, First Place in Theatre/Film/Opera Division for Las Auténticas
2022
Dr. Ben Morris | 2 of 12
AWARDS and COMMISSIONS (continued) Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra Prize and Commission
2021
Washington National Opera American Opera Initiative Commission
2020
Playground Ensemble Colorado Collaborators Concert Commission
2020
New York Youth Symphony First Music Jazz Commission, Grand Prize and Honorable Mention
2020, 2016
Downbeat Awards, Best Large Ensemble Jazz Composition, Graduate Division
2020, 2016
Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) Commission
2020
Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, Honorable Mention
2019
International Society of Bassists David Walter Composition Competition, Grand Prize
2016
Da Camera and Foundation for Modern Music Commissions for the Houston Museum of Fine Arts
2016
Lake George Music Festival Composition Competition, Semi-finalist
2016
Frost School of Music Orchestra Composition Competition, Grand Prize Winner
2015
Fredericksburg Brass/Brass Institutes of America Commission for Beta Drift
2015
ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award for Stiltsville Concerto
2014
Klezmer Company Orchestra Composition Competition, Prize and Commission
2014, 2013
Festival Miami (Frost Music Live) Emerging Composers Concert, Competition Winner
2013, 2012
New Jersey Music Educators Association Young Composers Award
2010
GRANTS and FELLOWSHIPS Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Research and Graduate Studies Project Grants 2024-2026 Stephen F. Austin State University Professional Development Grants
2022-2026
Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA) Artistic Innovations Grant for commission with Loop38
2023
Stephen F. Austin State University Cole Faculty Excellence Grant
2023
The Allied Arts Denver Grant for Colorado Sky
2022
American-Scandinavian Foundation Grant for dissertation research
2021
Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant, CU Boulder, for dissertation research
2021
Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant, Eastman School of Music
2020
Fulbright Study/Research Fellowship, Norwegian Academy of Music
2017
SELECTED FESTIVALS Albany Symphony American Music Festival Dogs of Desire commission for Life Springs Blue
2026
University of Georgia New Music Festival, Athens, GA, performance of Ymir’s Bones
2026
Source Song Festival: MN Song, Minneapolis, MN
2025-2026, 2021
Opera Austin Festival Aria Stage, Austin TX, performance of “Today the Sun Rose” from Las Auténticas
2025
Festival of Contemporary Artists in Music, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
2025
Boston Singers Resource FUSE: Collaborations in Song Festival, Boston, MA
2024
Gene Harris Jazz Festival Clinician and Adjudicator, Boise State University, Boise, ID
2023
highScore Music Festival, Pavia, Italy
2016
New Music on the Point Festival, Leicester, VT
2014
Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, New York, NY
2013
Dr. Ben Morris | 3 of 12
PRESENTATIONS, ARTIST TALKS, and CONFERENCES “Contemporary Genre Blending Techniques.” UMKC Composition Symposium, KC, MO (June 22).
2026
“Collaborating with Dancers.” University of Houston Comp. Seminar, Houston, TX (Jan. 29).
2026
“Landscape and Music.” University of Denver Comp. Seminar, Denver, CO (Jan. 15).
2026
“Colorado Sky: A Shadow Puppet Opera and Other Works with Laura Fuentes.” National Opera Association New Works Expo, Fairmont-Copley Hotel, Boston, MA (Jan. 10).
2026
“Longleaf: A Multimedia Ecological Work.” Keynote Talk at Big Thicket 50th Anniversary Symposium, Big Thicket National Preserve Visitor’s Center, Kountze, TX (Oct. 12).
2024
“Creating Longleaf: A Multimedia Work.” Washington State U. Comp. Seminar, Pullman, WA (Oct. 4).
2024
“Composing Subpar Parks: A New Work for Musiqa.” Rice U. Comp. Seminar, Houston, TX (Sept. 19).
2024
“Genre Blending and National Identity in Norwegian Jazz at the Punkt Festival.” International 2024 Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers Symposium, Vanderbilt U., Nashville, TN (May 16-18). International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days, Delegate for Stephen F. Austin State University, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (June 22-30).
2024
“Applying for a Fulbright.” Stephen F. Austin State University Office of International Programs Study Abroad Workshop, Nacogdoches, TX (Oct. 23).
2024
“The Rip Van Winkles and Other Works with Librettist Laura Fuentes.” National Opera Association New Works Expo, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Jan. 3-6).
2024
“Genre Syncretism and Nationalism in Norwegian Jazz, 1970-Present.” New Perspectives in Popular Music Research Conference, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway (June 1-2).
2022
“Composing Ymir’s Bones: An Original Work for Big Band.” International Society of Jazz Arrangers 2022 and Composers Symposium New Music Workshop, University of Texas, Austin, TX (May 11-15). “Collaboration in The Fall of Man: A Multimedia Work.” Texas Tech Comp Seminar, Lubbock (April 15).
2022
“Composing ’A Lost Pair of Kites’ from Pocket Guides.” Brush Creek Resident Artist Talk, Saratoga, WY and Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Artist Talk, Nebraska City, NE (Sept. 20, July 17).
2019
“Applying for a Fulbright.” University of Miami Frost School of Music, Coral Gables, FL (May 10).
2018
“Edvard, for Big Band and other works” Norwegian Academy of Music Jazz Comp Forum, Oslo, Norway (April 25).
2018
PUBLICATIONS “The Punkt Festival and its Antecedents: Genre Hybridity and Remixing as Vehicles for Defining Cultural Identity in Norwegian Jazz Life.” Jazz and Culture: Volume 9.2, Fall/Winter 2026.
2026
“Longleaf: A Multimedia Musical Composition about Longleaf Pine.” The Longleaf Leader, XVIII: Issue 1, Winter 2025.
2025
Music published by Alias Press, an affiliated publisher of Theodore Presser Company. “Beta Drift,” “Bright Light at Russell’s Corners,” “The Hill of Three Wishes,” “Dust Storm,” “Sand Trap,” “Scree Scramble,” “Ymir’s Bones,” and “The Myth of Inexhaustibility.”
2025
ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL SERVICE University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Assistant Professor of Music Composition/Electronic Music Search Committee Dissertation Committees (6 to date)
2026 2026-present
Stephen F. Austin State University (University-wide) Boren Scholarship Committee Rice University Representative for the Investiture Ceremony of President Neal Weaver
2025 2025
Stephen F. Austin State University (School of Music) Tuba/Euphonium Search Committee Musicology Search Committee Thesis Committees (17 total)
Dr. Ben Morris | 4 of 12
2026 2025 2022-2026
ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL SERVICE (continued) Stephen F. Austin State University (School of Music) (continued) Comprehensive Exam Committees (7 total) Recital Committees (8 total) Assessment Committee Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum Committees
2023-2026 2022-2026 2023-2025 2022-2024
Discipline Judge, Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) Student Affiliate Composition Contest Adjudicator, Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat Judge, Musiqa Emerging Composers Competition Judge, Western Washington University Orchestra Composition Contest
2026 2026, 2025 2025, 2024 2023
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Freelance Composer, Producer, Orchestrator, Arranger, Copyist, and Jazz Pianist Ben Morris Music, Kansas City, MO
2011-present
Administrative and Musical Assistant Light and Sound Scoring, New York City, NY
2019-2020
Composer-in-Residence and Teaching Artist Da Camera Young Artist Program, Houston, TX
2016-2017
Orchestrator, Copyist, and Administrative Assistant Michael Bacon Film Music Studio, New York City, NY
2012-2016
Archivist, Historian, and Honors Summer Research Fellow University of Miami Richter Library Cuban Heritage Collection, Coral Gables, FL
2012-2015
SKILLS Software and Platforms: Logic, ProTools, Cubase, Reason, Digital Performer, Reaper, Ableton, MaxMSP, WWise, FMOD, Sibelius, Dorico, MuseScore, Adobe Suite, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, QLab, Microsoft Teams, Brightspace/D2L, Canvas, Blackboard, Zoom, and Microsoft Office Suite Languages: Intermediate French and Basic Norwegian
SELECTED WORKS LIST and PERFORMANCES ORCHESTRA and LARGE ENSEMBLE Life Springs Blue (12’00”) (soprano, mezzo soprano, and sinfonietta)
2026
Commissioned by David Alan Miller and Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire, Albany, NY (6/26)
American Mosaic (22’00”) (concerto grosso for jazz sextet and wind ensemble)
2026
Commissioned by Tamey Anglley and the SFA Wind Ensemble for CBDNA Southwest (2/26)
The Myth of Inexhaustibility (20’00”) (concerto for soprano sax and wind ensemble)
2025
Longleaf (60’00”) (trp, hn, tbn, perc, harp, string quintet, audiovisual multimedia)
2024
The Hill of Three Wishes (7’00”) (orchestra – 2222/222/timp/1 perc/strings)
2022
Consortium commission led by Bob Eason, Tamey Anglley, and the SFA Wind Ensemble (4/25) Commissioned and premiered by Loop38, Houston, TX (3/24)
Commissioned by Pro Musica Colorado Orchestra, Boulder, CO. Published by Alias Press (11/22)
Fractal Kennings (7’00”) (orchestra - 3333/4331/timp/3 perc/harp/keys/strings)
2018
House of Stairs (6’50”) (orchestra - 2222/221/harp/keys/2 perc/strings)
2017
Read by the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, Aspen, CO (6/18)
Performed by the Shepherd School of Music Chamber Orchestra, Houston, TX (3/19)
Beltway 8 (9’00”) (orchestra - 2233/4231/harp/keys/timp/3 perc/strings) Read by the American Composer’s Orchestra JCOI Readings, NYC, NY and Rice U. Orchestra (6/16)
Dr. Ben Morris | 5 of 12
2016
ORCHESTRA and LARGE ENSEMBLE (continued) Ceiba Pentandra (10’00”) (orchestra - 2222/4231/timp/2 perc/strings)
2014
Performed by the Frost School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Coral Gables, FL (2/15)
Stiltsville Concerto (17’50”)
2013
(double concerto for marimba, piano, and orchestra - 2222/4231/timp/2 perc/strings)
VOICE and OPERA the meadow (4’00”) (tenor and pno)
2026
Accounts of a Lost World (20’00”) (SSAATB and Renaissance band)
2026
Commissioned by NATS Mentorship Program. Libretto by Gina Stevensen (Premiere 5/26) Composed for Source Song Festival and Piffaro, Minneapolis, MN (Premiere 8/26)
Two Sanders Songs (8’00”) (soprano or baritone and pno)
2025
The Crone Speaks (10’00”) (mezzo soprano and pno)
2024
The Rip Van Winkles (60’00”) (opera in one act)
2023
Commissioned by Maggie Hinchliffe and Rosie Kearin, Waco, TX (Premiere 4/25) Poetry by Katharyn Howd Machan, commissioned by FUSE/Catalyst New Music, MA (Premiere 5/24) Libretto by Laura Fuentes, commissioned by Glimmerglass Festival, NY (Premiere 8/23)
Colorado Sky (30’00”) (shadow puppet opera for three vocalists and string quartet)
2023
Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere with Art Song Colorado, Denver, CO (6/23)
The Fall of Man and Other Tales (60’00”) (multimedia song cycle/music theatre piece)
2022
Perspective (17’00”) (opera in one act)
2021
Death, Inc. (4’00”) (soprano and pno)
2021
Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere at CU Boulder ATLAS B2 Black Box Theatre, CO (4/22) Libretto by Nnamdi Nwankwo, premiere at CU NOW (New Opera Workshop), CO (6/21) Text by Joyce Sutphen, premiere at Source Song Festival, Minneapolis, MN (8/21)
Las Auténticas (20’30”) (opera in one act)
2021
My First Drawing (from The Little Prince) (6’00”) (soprano and vlc)
2020
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (6’00”) (baritone, bs tbn, cb)
2020
Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere at Washington National Opera, Washington, DC (4/21) Commissioned by the Sohap Ensemble (1/21)
Commissioned by Erich Haller, soprano/cello version premiered by Sohap Ensemble (1/21)
Four Postcards (11’00”) (tenor and gtr)
2020
Commissioned by the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) (8/20)
Routine Surprise (11’00”) (sop and pno)
2020
People are Lights (5’20”) (baritone and vlc)
2019
Performed by Maureen Bailey and Maggie Hinchliffe, Boulder, CO (3/20) Performed by Tim Wilfong and Laura Jacyna, Montreal, Canada (8/19)
Two Grandfathers (7’00”) (mz soprano, vln, gtr, harp, pno)
2017
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (5’00”) (soprano and vlc)
2016
Commissioned by Da Camera Young Artists, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, TX (4/17) Commissioned by the Da Camera Music Encounters program, Houston, TX (2/17)
Hey the Gift, Ho the Gift (8’00”) (countertenor, tenor, 3 tbns, tba, organ)
2016
Bubbles in a River (10’00”) (bass voice, picc/a. fl, bsn, vln, vlc, cb, harp, pno)
2016
Performed at New Music for the Season, Houston, TX (12/16)
Performed by Alex Rosen at Rice University Composer’s Forum, Houston, TX (4/16)
Recurrent (9’00”) (soprano and perc)
2014
My Cathedral (4’00”) (SATB choir)
2013
Commissioned by Resound Duo, Festival Miami Composers Concert, Miami, FL (10/14) Performed by ACDA (American Choir Directors Association) at Bede Chapel, Miami, FL, (5/15)
Dr. Ben Morris | 6 of 12
JAZZ—LARGE ENSEMBLE and COMBO Dust Storm (5’30”) (big band)
2025
Premiere at BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Showcase Concert, NYC. Published by Alias Press (6/25)
Pocket Guides (60’00”) (debut album)
2022
Released on OA2/Origin Records (6/22)
Hadrosaur Patrol (7’00”) (big band and electronics)
2021
Hvalsang (9’00”) (big band)
2020
Hongdae After Midnight (6’00”) (jazz combo)
2019
Commissioned by the Boise State Jazz Orchestra, Boise, ID (Premiere 4/21) Commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony Big Band, New York City, NY (Premiere 5/21) Premiere at the Newport Jazz Festival by the Ben Morris Quintet, Newport, RI (8/19)
Edvard – Bryggen to Brooklyn (10’00”) (extended big band, field recordings, and video)
2018
Ymir’s Bones (6’50”) (big band – with combo version)
2017
Hawk Circle (7’00”) (fl, ob, cl, bsn, a. sax, trp, hrn, pno, cb, drums)
2015
Premiere by the Mastodont Ensemble at Serendip Music Festival, Oslo, Norway (2/18) Read by the NDR Big Band, Hamburg, Germany. Published by Alias Press (3/18) Performed at Roe and Penny Stamps Scholarship Concert, Miami, FL (2/15)
200 IM (25’00”) (two dueling jazz septets)
2014
Performed at Frost School of Music Senior Recital, Coral Gables, FL (3/15)
Blue Zemer’l (4’10”) (Klezmer orchestra)
2014
Newport Fog (13’00”) (a. sax, t. sax, trp, gtr, pno, cb, drums)
2014
Commissioned by the Klezmer Company Orchestra at FAU in Boca Raton, FL (3/15) Performed at Frost School of Music Junior Recital, Coral Gables, FL (4/14)
CHAMBER MUSIC Jets of Enceladus (5’30”) (fl, pno)
2025
Commissioned and performed by Michael Alampi and Maggie Hinchliffe, Glen Ridge, NJ (10/25)
Subpar Parks (7’00”) (fl, cl, vln, vlc, pno)
2024
Hallingdal Freylekhs (6’00”) (vln, vla, vlc, pno)
2024
Denali Mosquito Dance (6’00”) (fl, b. cl, vln, perc)
2023
Commissioned and performed by Musiqa, Houston, TX (9/24) Performed by Atlanta Chamber Players, High Museum of Arts, GA (4/24) Performed by Corvus Ensemble at Composing in the Wilderness, Fairbanks, AK (7/23)
Ghost Figures (8’00”) (pno quintet + perc)
2021
Commissioned by the Playground Ensemble, Denver, CO (5/21)
Hypercoaster (8’00”) (sax quartet)
2021
Pando, The Trembling Giant (1’15”) (piano four hands)
2020
Smear Frame (6’00”) (fl, cl, e. gtr, cb, pno)
2020
Commissioned by ~Nois and CU Boulder, Boulder, CO (12/20) Performed by HOCKET, CU Boulder, Boulder, CO (12/20) Performed by NOW Ensemble at Red Note Festival, Normal, IL (2/20)
Colorado Quandary (6’00”) (trp, hn, pno)
2020
A (Short) Story of Earth (10’20”) (fl/a. fl/picc, cl/b. cl, vln, vlc, perc, pno)
2019
Commissioned by Maria Long at Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ (4/20) Commissioned by Boulder Altitude Directive (B.A.D.) ensemble in Boulder, CO (10/19)
Jejuholmen (7’30”) (fl/picc, cl/b. cl, vln, vla, vlc, perc, pno)
Commissioned by Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at Aspen Music Festival, CO (7/18)
Dr. Ben Morris | 7 of 12
2018
CHAMBER MUSIC (continued) The Dolphin Moments (9’30”) (narrator, harp, and cb)
2017
Performed at Historiefortelling – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (4/18)
Hylestad (9’00”) (two narrators, trp, string quartet)
2017
Performed at Musikkbaren – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (3/18)
Ice on Sand (5’10”) (santoor and pedal steel guitar)
2017
Performed at Historiefortelling – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (4/18)
Uncontacted Peoples (6’00”) (five miniatures for brass quintet)
2017
Duet for Daegeum and Haegeum (2’00”)
2017
Puppies in the Snow (5’00”) (a. sax, cb, koto, gayagŭm, zheng, changgu)
2016
Commissioned by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chamber Music Institute (6/17) Read at the International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, South Korea (7/17) Performed by IIIz+ at Hear and Now, Rice University, Houston, TX (9/16)
Sand Trap (5’00”) (fl and bsn)
2016
Performed by Second Species at Hear and Now, Houston, TX. Published by Alias Press (10/16)
Agreus and Nomios (6’00”) (b. fl and ac. gtr)
2016
Bric-a-Brac (4’30”) (trp, perc, cb)
2016
Latta at Valhalla (4’00”) (vln and pno)
2016
Performed by unassisted fold at the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Canepanova, Pavia, Italy (8/16) Performances at Rice Gallery and Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park, Houston, TX (4/16) Commissioned by Giancarlo Latta – The Encores Project: 16 Premieres, Houston, TX (4/16)
Giverny, Sunrise (3’30”) (vln and cl)
2016
Performed at Hear and Now at Rice University, Houston, TX (4/17)
Aromatic (8’00”) (vla and pno)
2015
Performed by Tonya Burton’s masters recital, Houston, TX (2/16)
Pastistio (9’30”) (cl, vcl, perc, pno)
2015
Muqarnas Projections (11’30”) (3 vlns)
2015
Performed by Cadillac Moon Ensemble at Rice University, Houston, TX (1/16) Composed for Anila Agha’s Intersections exhibition at Rice Gallery, Houston, TX (11/15)
Bright Light at Russell’s Corners (9’00”) (5 cbs)
2015
Performed at Rice University Composers Forum, Houston, TX. Published by Alias Press (11/15)
Olduvai Gorge (6’50”) (vln, vla, vlc, hrn, ob)
2015
Manatee Matinee (5’20”) (e. gtr and perc)
2014
Ecotone Mosaic (8’00”) (2 a. saxes, 1 bari. sax)
2014
Read by Cleveland Orchestra chamber players, Miami, FL (1/15) Commissioned by the Living Earth Show for the 12 Nights Festival, Miami, FL (3/15) Performed at Frost School of Music Sax chamber concert, Coral Gables, FL (12/15)
Glassbottom (8’10”) (ob, b. cl, vln, cb, pno)
2014
Performed at New Music on the Point, Middlebury Town Hall Theater, VT (6/14)
Citron et Ail (6’10”) (fl, ob, hn, 2 vlns, vla, vlc, cb)
2014
Phragmites in the Storm (5’20”) (sax quartet)
2013
Orange Sky Silhouette (6’20”) (fl, ob, cl, bsn, pno)
2013
Performed at the Festival Miami Emerging Composers Concert, Miami, FL (2/14) Performed at SCI Winter Concert, Coral Gables, FL (2/14) Performed at Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival at Mannes College, NYC, NY (8/13)
Confluence (15’30”) (brass quintet)
Performed by the Stamps Brass Quintet, SCI Miami Concert, Miami, FL (3/14)
Dr. Ben Morris | 8 of 12
2013
CHAMBER MUSIC (continued) Shoreline Textures (12’00”) (cl, vln, pno)
2013
Performed by the Pulse Trio at their Frost School of Music Residency, Miami, FL (4/13)
Cosmography (4’50”) (cl, a. sax, vln, vlc, cb, pno)
2013
Performed by Frost School of Music Other Music Ensemble, Coral Gables, FL (4/13)
Grass, Wood, and Bricks (4’10”) (cl, trp, vln, pno)
2013
Wooden Angel (6’00”) (E.h. and pno)
2012
Winding (5’30”) (vlc and pno)
2012
Performed by Frost School of Music Other Music Ensemble, Coral Gables, FL (3/13) Performed at SCI Miami Fall Concert, Coral Gables, FL (9/14) Performed at SCI Miami Spring Concert, Coral Gables, FL (3/12)
The Failed Method (3’50”) (sop. sax, vln, pno)
Performed by Kookaburra Trio, Coral Gables, FL (4/12)
2011
SOLO Scree Scramble (4’00”) (solo contrabass)
2020
Map of My Room (2’00”) (solo guitar)
2020
Órnes Carvings (3’30”) (solo violoncello)
2020
Commissioned by the Robert Black Foundation and NMOP. Published by Alias Press (Premiere 7/20) Commissioned by the Sounding Board Project (Premiere 7/20) Performed at the Sibelius Academy Creative Dialogue XII (Premiere 7/20)
Secaucus Junction (10’00”) (solo piano)
2020
Commissioned by Wesley Ducote, Miami, FL. Performance at New World Symphony Hall (4/22)
Pandemic Poems and Pieces (weekly 1’-2’ solo piano miniatures)
2020
Virtual premieres by Maggie Hinchliffe, Glen Ridge, NJ (3/20)
Nautilus Chambers (3’20”) (solo a. sax)
2013
Three Miniatures (9’35”) (solo piano)
2012
Performed by Eliot Gattegno for his Frost School of Music residency, Coral Gables, FL (11/13) Performed at Festival Miami Emerging Composers Concert, Miami, FL (10/12)
ELECTROACOUSTIC, INSTALLATIONS, and MULTIMEDIA Stomping Ground (8’00”) (cl, vln, vlc, perc, fixed media)
2025
The Last Mammoth of Wrangel Island (7’00”) (2 dancers, fls, viola d’amore, organ, perc, fixed media)
2025
Composed for Unheard-of//Ensemble at McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX (8/25) Composed for PART Ensemble, Shepherd King Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX (8/25)
Longleaf (60’00”) (trp, hn, tbn, perc, harp, string quintet, audiovisual multimedia)
2024
Commissioned and premiered by Loop38, Houston, TX (3/24)
Convergent Evolution (7’00”) (t. sax and fixed media)
2024
Double Brood Invasion (6’00”) (bsn and fixed media)
2024
Gallantries (12’00”) (tuba and fixed media)
2024
Commissioned and premiered by David Bernot, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO (4/24) Commissioned and premiered by Cody Hunter, IDRS Conference, Flagstaff, AZ (7/24, rev. 2026) Commissioned and premiered by Sam Ambrose, Appalachian State University, NC (2/24)
Explosions on a Sun 80 billion Light Years from Earth (7’00”) (horn and fixed media)
2023
clear and calm pools of tremendous depth (8’00”) (percussion and fixed media)
2021
Commissioned and premiered by Dakota Corbliss, Southeast Missouri State University, MO (2/24) Commissioned and premiered by Christopher Eagles, recorded by Dr. Brad Meyer (3/22)
Dr. Ben Morris | 9 of 12
ELECTROACOUSTIC, MULTIMEDIA, etc. (continued) Communicating Gratitude (15’00”) (fixed video, t. sax, cl/bs cl/fl, trp/flglh, melodica/pno)
2020
Collaborative video for Westben Digital Residency, Campbellford, ON (6/20)
Outdoor Warnings (7’00”) (horn, a. sax, and fixed media)
2020
Commissioned by PIVOT Duo, premiere @ USC, Columbia, SC (10/20)
Teen of the Aughts (8’00”) (drum set and fixed media)
2019
Beta Drift (6’30”) (trp in C, fixed media)
2017
My Dog Ate It (7’00”) (wind ensemble and video)
2017
Refuge for the Rain (0’00”) (site-specific installation - single channel video, stereo audio, props)
2017
Mensis Exolvuntur Mundana (8’00”) (bass-baritone, soprano, live-processed trp and tbn, fixed media)
2016
Commissioned by Brady Spitz, Rice University, Houston, TX (3/19) Commissioned by Derek Ganong and Fredericksburg Brass Institute, VA. Published by Alias Press (6/17)
Commissioned by the HSPVA Wind Ensemble, Houston, TX (Premiere 4/17) Exhibition at the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX (5/17)
Composed for the James Turrell Skyspace at Rice University, Houston, TX (4/16)
Einstein on South Beach (5’00”) (brass quintet and fixed media)
2016
Commissioned by Vice City Brass, Fredericksburg, VA (6/16)
Second Avenue Saturdays (7’00”) (brass quintet and fixed media)
2015
Noon Indian (9’10”) (multiple winds performer [bsn and s. sax] and fixed media)
2015
Commissioned by Vice City Brass, Fredericksburg, VA (1/16) Commissioned and premiered by Keith Petersen, Coral Gables, FL (12/15)
Blue Spruce (8’10”) (2 perc and fixed media)
2015
Performed by the Scuffed Shoe Duet at Electric LaTex Festival, Houston, TX (11/15)
Oval BA (8’00”) (vlc and fixed media)
2015
Psammosere (6’50”) (e. gtr and fixed media)
2014
Performed at the Frost School of Music Cello Studio Recital, Coral Gables, FL (4/15) Performed by Jonah Udall at Wynwood Arts Festival, Miami, FL (12/14)
FILM, THEATRE, and DANCE Four Corners (90’00”) (dance — fl, string quartet, and fixed media)
Choreographed by Karen Stokes, premiere at Midtown Arts and Theater Center, Houston, TX (2/26)
Feature and Short Film Collaborations with Gabriel Rhenals (misc.) (film scores)
2026
2012-2026
Scores for various film titles, including Ask Delphi, State vs. Unknown, The Promotion, etc.
American River (90’00”) (documentary film score – 3 vln, vla, vlc, cl, mandolin, shakuhachi, gtr, cb, pno)
2021
Premiere at the Montclair Film Festival, Montclair, NJ (10/21)
Don Juan Comes Back from the War (120’00”) (incidental music)
2018
Premiere at Lenfest Center for the Arts at Columbia University, NYC, NY (3/18)
Inside out, outside in (5’00”) (site specific theater piece – 5 actors and audience)
2018
North Pond (75’00”) (one-act chamber musical)
2017
Saving the Great Swamp (60’00”) (documentary film score – 2 vln, vla, vlc, cl, trp, pno)
2016
Premiere at Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (1/18)
Premiere at MATCH Theater, sponsored by Musiqa, Houston, TX (4/17) Premiere at the MAYO Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ (12/16)
An Iliad (60’00”) (solo harp incidental music)
Premiere at the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX (3/17)
Dr. Ben Morris | 10 of 12
2016
ARRANGEMENTS and ORCHESTRATIONS The Bacon Brothers and San Diego Symphony: Symphony at Salk (60’00”)
2026
John Coltrane: Legacy (60’00”) (orchestra - 2222/233/3 saxes/timp/2 perc/harp/rhythm section/strings)
2024
Swinging into Spring with Frank Shiner (60’00”) (orchestra – 2 trps/2 tbns/3 saxes/ rhythm section/strings)
2022
Orchestrations of Bacon Brothers songs for Michael and Kevin Bacon and the San Diego Symphony for Salk Institute’s annual Symphony at Salk event (8/26)
Three arrangements performed by Toronto Symphony and Joe Lovano in Toronto, ON. Additional performances by the Boston, BBC, Nashville, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Chicago Symphonies (5/24-5/26) Arrangements of “It Had to Be You,” “All of Me,” etc. with Orchestra 914, Chappaqua, NY (5/22)
Brad Ross with Orchestra 914 (60’00”) (orchestra - 2222/221/harp/2 perc/strings)
Arrangements of Brad Ross compositions for Orchestra 914, Chappaqua, NY (Premieres 4/19-7/22)
2019
DISCOGRAPHY CCI//Sessions, Vol. 7 with Unheard-of//Ensemble, feat. Stomping Ground
2025
Rhenals-Morris: Vol. 1 Collected Film Soundtracks, 2012-2025
2025
American River Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2024
Colorado Sky cast album with Art Song Colorado
2023
Pocket Guides debut album on OA2/Origin Records
2022
ONLINE: Musical Collaborations from the Pandemic, Boise State Jazz Orchestra, feat. Hadrosaur Patrol 2021 Teleconference with Vice City Brass
2021
terraform with PIVOT Duo (Dakota Corbliss and Matt Castner)
2021
North Pond: A Chamber Musical original cast album
2021
Saving the Great Swamp Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2016
16x16: The Rice Encores Project with Giancarlo Latta and Wesley Ducote
2016
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS and AFFILIATIONS National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Affiliate Member
2025-present
National Opera Association (NOA)
2023-present
International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC)
2022-present
International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) Texas Delegate
2022-present
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
2012-present
Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)
2012-present
REFERENCES Chen Yi
Carter Pann
Distinguished Professor of Composition University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory cheyi@umkc.edu (646) 552-9921
Chair of Composition University of Colorado Boulder Carter.Pann@colorado.edu (303) 492-2173
Stephen Lias
Michael Bacon
Professor of Composition Stephen F. Austin State University slias@sfasu.edu (936) 615-1665
Film Composer Michael Bacon Music michael@michaelbaconmusic.com (212) 595-0055
Dr. Ben Morris | 11 of 12
REFERENCES (continued) Anthony Brandt
Karim Al-Zand
Professor of Composition and Theory Rice University abrandt@rice.edu (713) 348-2192
Professor of Composition and Theory Rice University alzand@rice.edu (713) 348-3740
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