Quinton Morris, violinist, music professor and founder and director of The Young Eight, America’s only all African-American string octet, will join Associate Conductor Carolyn Kuan as she leads Seattle Symphony in several free community concerts.
Two programs will be presented, the first of which includes performances on Friday, January 11, at 8 p.m. at West Seattle High School and Thursday, January 17, at 7 p.m. at South Park Community Center. Works by Rossini, Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn will be performed.
The second program will be performed on Wednesday, January 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center and Friday, January 25, at 12 p.m. at Seattle City Hall. These performances include an all-Mozart program.
Additional performances including Quinton Morris will be presented during the month of January at schools and community centers around the Puget Sound area including Seattle University and Langston Hughes Community Center.
Seattle Symphony Director of Education Nancy Gosen explains, “We invited Quinton to be part of our ACCESS community concerts this season due to his ongoing commitment to bringing classical music to underserved populations. Quinton is a great example to kids everywhere as someone who has succeeded in achieving his dreams and who continues to give back to his community. We welcome him back to Seattle.”
Quinton I. Morris enjoys a multifaceted career as a concert violinist, chamber musician, teacher, director and founder of The Young Eight String Octet. A native of Renton, Washington, Morris recently returned to the Northwest and currently serves as Director of Chamber and Instrumental Music and Music Professor at Seattle University. Recent concert appearances include a recital with Byron Schenkman and Metropolitan Opera soprano Indra Thomas at Benaroya Hall; concerto performances at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris; the Guildhall School in London; the Roman Catholic Theatre in Bohn; and the Austin Chamber Music Center in Austin. Morris is the recipient of numerous competition awards, including The Boston Conservatory Chamber Music Honors Competition, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artists’ Concerto Competition, Seattle Philharmonic Concerto Competition, the NAACP ACT-SO Competition, the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs String Competition and the Ebony Showcase Music Award.
The Young Eight is America’s only string octet comprised of distinguished African-American string players from the nation’s prestigious music schools and conservatories. This season, the octet returns to New York for concerts at York College’s Distinguished Artists Series, Music Mondays Chamber Music Series and a host of residencies. Concert debuts include recitals in Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The octet has served as Artists in Residence at a number of universities and chamber music societies, including the University of Washington World Series, York College Distinguished Artists Series, Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, Morehouse College, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, the University of Texas-Austin, Wichita State University, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, North Carolina School of the Arts, Huston-Tillotson University and Longhorn Music Camp. The Young Eight received a Medal of Honor from the United States Military for their commitment to public and community service. -- www.seattlesymphony.org
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
