Ralph Winston Morris (born January 19, 1941, in

Barnwell, South Carolina Barnwell is a city in and county seat of Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States, located along U.S. Route 278. The population was 4,750 at the 2010 census. Geography Barnwell is located east of the center of Barnwell County at (33.24 ...

) is an American tubist. He served as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

and

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's Cookeville micropolitan area, mic ...

, for 55 years, and subsequent to his retirement after the 2021-2022 academic year, was named Professor Emeritus of Tuba and Euphonium. Morris is editor of ''The Tuba Source Book'' and the ''Euphonium Source Book''. Morris earned his academic degree in music from

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

in 1962. As the

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

of the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble, he started promoting jazz tuba performance in an ensemble setting as early as 1967. Morris created the first tuba/euphonium ensemble at Tennessee Tech. The Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble has performed under Morris' direction on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

and at the

New Orleans Jazz Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

, the National MENC Conference in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, the International T.U.B.A. Conference in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C., and at the Spoleto Festival in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. The ensemble has also performed in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

8 times, produced 31 commercial recordings—some which have been

grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominated—and generated more than 1200 compositions for the tuba, euphonium and tuba ensemble. Morris put together the first euphonium choir and organized the first recording project for euphonium choir. Morris studied under William Bell, tuba player for the

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

Band. Winston was also a member of the

Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort is a US big band scored for low brass instruments – euphoniums, and tubas – performed by artists who are renowned in jazz or classical or both. History The group was formed in 1975 by Rich Matteson and Ha ...

with

Rich Matteson Rich A. Matteson, (born Richmond Albert Matteson, January 12, 1929, Forest Lake, Minnesota – June 24, 1993, Jacksonville, Florida) was an American jazz artist and collegiate music educator who specialized in the euphonium. He played the tuba in ...

, Ashley Alexander, John Allred, Buddy Baker,

Harvey Phillips Harvey Gene Phillips, Sr. (December 2, 1929 – October 20, 2010) was an American tuba player. He served as the Distinguished Professor of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington (from 1971 to 1994) and was dedicated advoc ...

and Daniel Perantoni. Morris created and conducted Symphonia, a tuba/euphonium ensemble that was composed of top professional tuba and euphonium players from across the United States. A reunion concert billed as ''Tubas of Mass Destruction'' was held in 2007 at Tennessee Tech, and included over 100 current and former students from his then-40 years of teaching. Throughout his teaching career, Morris has encouraged his students to arrange and compose pieces of music for the ensemble, which was necessary in the early days of the group, as there was virtually no repertoire for them to play.International Tuba Euphonium Association
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, R. Winston 1941 births Living people American classical tubists American jazz tubists American jazz composers Composers for tuba American music arrangers American music educators People from Barnwell, South Carolina 21st-century American tubists American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort members