Ben Morris

The Colorado Lullaby Project presents an unparalleled opportunity for young musicians to help create a meaningful and personal piece of music for a mother and child. It’s a wonderful venue for collaboration, and an important example of how musicians can interact purposefully with their immediate communities. As a composer, I’ve worked on music for children in various capacities, such as settings of children’s books to be performed in elementary schools, but I’ve never worked so closely with a specific person before to create a piece for a single child. I’m beyond excited to help a parent craft lyrics and a catchy, memorable tune they can keep with them for the rest of their life with their child. 

Ben Morris is a Colorado-based composer and jazz pianist whose music tells unconventional stories and crosses genre boundaries. He recently studied in Oslo, Norway on a Fulbright Grant, composing a work for big band and video inspired by his Norwegian heritage. His compositions have been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, NOW Ensemble, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, trombonist Vincent Gardner, unassisted fold, Boulder Altitude Directive (BAD), Imani Winds, Living Earth Show, and the NDR Big Band, among others. 

Morris’s accolades include performing with his quintet at the Newport Jazz Festival, attending the Aspen Music Festival, studying traditional Korean music at the National Gugak Center in Seoul, and receiving the ASCAP Morton Gould and Herb Alpert Awards, two Downbeat Awards, and commissions from the Washington National Opera, the American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute, Playground Ensemble, and New York Youth Symphony First Music. Morris is also a versatile film and theatre composer, having recently scored two award-winning public television documentaries, American River and Saving the Great Swamp. Morris completed his studies at Rice University and the University of Miami and is currently pursuing a DMA at the University of Colorado Boulder.