IMC Festival of the Arts Performance – Taylor Morris

Taylor Morris

Hailed by a class of 2nd graders as “wreely nice and kind” and “the coolest man on erth,” Arizona native Taylor Morris enjoys blurring the line between violin and fiddle. After studying classical violin at Arizona State University with Dr. Katie McLin, he spent four years touring the world as one of five fiddlers with Barrage, a world-music violin troupe based out of Canada. His travels, both with Barrage and personally, have led to performances in 48 states and 13 countries with musicians from a multitude of backgrounds. Strongly believing we can learn more about the world through collaboration with others, Taylor actively pursues musical projects in different genres. Currently, he is part of Tricia & Taylor, a genre-bending violin/fiddle duo with concert violinist Tricia Park, and a member of The Sound Accord, a string sextet that creates vibrant arrangements of folk music. Other performers with whom Taylor has recently collaborated include: multi-style cellists Mike Block, Rushad Eggleston, & Natalie Haas; fiddlers Hanneke Cassel, Casey Driessen, Jeremy Kittel, & Lauren Rioux; arts educator Steve Seidel; and the Tetra String Quartet.

Off of the stage, Taylor obtained a master’s in education from Harvard University and is a passionate advocate for arts education. Since 2000, Taylor’s teaching has taken him into classrooms around the country, with activities ranging from creating music-inspired art with kindergarteners to leading workshops at the University of Notre Dame, University of the Pacific, Millikin University, and Arizona State University. As a kid, Taylor loved going to summer camps; as an adult, Taylor still loves going to summer camps. In addition to having taught at camps in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and South Carolina, he also directs StringPlay, his own camp for young musicians in the Phoenix area. During the year, Taylor’s main educational outlet is serving as a founding co-director of the Gilbert Town Fiddlers, an extracurricular high school fiddle group that collaborates to create its own arrangements for performance. Additionally, he is in the midst of a three-year project as a Guest Lecturer at Arizona State University, working with Dr. Katie McLin and her students to explore multi-style music education and entrepreneurship. Through his teaching, Taylor is ultimately on a serious mission to keep music as fun as possible, working with students and educators to explore the incredible variety of ways to make music with string instruments.

All events are free to the public except where noted.  All times are Central Standard Time and are subject to change. For more up to date information, please contact the IMC office via email or phone (701) 263-4211 (June-July) or (701) 838-8472 (September-May).  There is a gate charge ($15 per vehicle) to enter the International Peace Garden.

The 2017 sponsors for the Festival of the Arts Series are: Sunrise Credit Union-Boissevain, Greater Rugby Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rolla Chamber of Commerce, Dacotah Bank of Rolla, Dunseith Community Betterment, First National Bank & Trust of Bottineau, and Starion Financial of Dunseith.