| Biography | Greg Morris is Associate Organist of the Temple Church in London, and Musical Director of Collegium Musicum of London. His playing has been described as authoritative and spectacularly rich in nuance, and he has performed as a recitalist, accompanist and conductor throughout the UK and Europe.
Gregs performances have included concerts at Notre Dame de Paris, the Neubrandenburg International Organ Festival, Westminster Abbey, St Pauls Cathedral, Kings College, Cambridge and many other cathedrals and major churches. He is known for his exciting and revealing interpretations of music ranging from Buxtehude and Bach to the music of twentieth-century and contemporary composers. His playing on a recent CD of organ music by Kenneth Leighton has been described as intensely atmospheric (Gramophone), while the American Record Guide commented: Morris playing is authoritative and more than equal to Leightons virtuosic demands. Greg gave the world première of David Briggs Organ Concerto, and his recording of this work is also available. For the 2008 Temple Festival, Greg commissioned and premiered David Bednalls, Iubilium, and he has since broadcast this piece on BBC Radio 3.
Since moving to the Temple in 2006, Greg has accompanied the acclaimed Temple Church Choir, described recently by Gramophone magazine as among the very best. With them, he has appeared on BBC Radio 3 and in CD recordings for Signum, including the recent A Festival of Psalms. He takes a major role in the training of the choristers, and regularly conducts the gentlemen of the Choir. He has recently completed a term as Acting Director of Music, during which the choristers gave a performance of the Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten.
Greg has also recently been appointed Musical Director of the chamber choir Collegium Musicum of London. His performances with them to date have included collaborating with leading soloists and instrumentalists in music ranging from Gabrieli and Monteverdi to Vaughan Williams and Tavener. An exciting and varied programme for 2013 includes performances of Allegris Miserere mei, Purcells ode Come ye Sons of Art, The Birthday Ode for Queen Anne by Handel, and Messe Sollenelle by Langlais.
Greg Morris was born in Manchester, and began to study the organ with Andrew Dean at The Manchester Grammar School. He held scholarships at St Georges Chapel, Windsor and Jesus College, Cambridge, studied the organ with Paul Stubbings, John Kitchen and Thomas Trotter, and was awarded the top performance prize for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. He then moved to Blackburn Cathedral as Assistant Director of Music, accompanying the Cathedral Choirs for services, broadcasts and recordings. He also directed the Cathedrals Young Peoples Choir, taking them on tours to Rome and Vienna, and conducting them in live broadcasts on BBC Radio 4. The choir also gave first performances of several works, including Sing unto the Lord by Andrew Simpson which was recently published in the Choirbook for the Queen to commemorate Her Majestys Diamond Jubilee. |