Lawrence D. ‘Butch’ Morris: A Conduction with New England Conservatory”
Offers a Vision of a Sonic Future Where Orchestral Music and Jazz Come Together
and Creative Expression is Unshackled
Coproduced by NEC and the Institute of Contemporary Art
in Collaboration with JazzBoston
“All kinds of folks downtown are conducting improvisers these days, but Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris is the orchestrator who gave the concept wings.” – Time Out New York
”Mr. Morris’s music has a cinematic quality that paints vibrant images in the listener’s head. At times he directs the massed musicians in violent stabs of sound, at others he brings out startingly lovely dissonances and consonances that are rather like finding a Bird in Igor’s yard.” – Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal
“Morris’s music is completely surprising and simply overwhelming….building the most incredible crossings of styles.” – Neue Musikzeitung
On Friday, March 2, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris and an all-star NEC ensemble take the stage at the ICA to make music that will leave you optimIstic about the future of the orchestra, the continuing evolution of jazz, and the creative capacity of the human spirit. The performance is the culmination of Morris’s 3-day residency at NEC, introducing 30 students drawn from the school’s Classical, Jazz, and Contemporary Improvisation Departments to Conduction®, a pioneering approach to composing and interpreting ensemble music that uses a vocabulary of signs and gestures to engage all members to their full capacity and order their spontaneous contributions into “another” music. Bringing the ICA, NEC, and Butch Morris together for this project is the latest example of the essential role JazzBoston plays in connecting members of Boston’s jazz community.
The event takes place at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 2, at the ICA’s Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, 100 Northern Avenue, Boston. Tickets are $20, $18 for students and ICA and JazzBoston members. For more information call 617.478.3100 or see the JazzBoston events calendar at www.jazzboston.org.
About Butch Morris
Throughout his career, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris has distinguished himself internationally as one of the most original and revealing figures at the meeting place of jazz, new music, improvisation, and contemporary classical music. Since 1985, employing his extraordinary lexicon of Conduction® directives, Morris has revolutionized the approach to ensemble music making. His work redefines the roles of composer, conductor, arranger and performer. He has worked his spell on symphony orchestras, funk, pop and jazz bands, A Chorus of Poets, new music and electro-acoustic ensembles and indigenous instruments from all over the world. For more information, visit www.conduction.us.
About New England Conservatory
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 720 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
About JazzBoston
The 6-year-old nonprofit JazzBoston connects, supports, and promotes the entire Greater Boston jazz scene. It is the only jazz advocacy organization in the region. Working through collaborations and partnerships, JazzBoston’s programs focus on building present and future audiences for the music, using jazz to bridge generational and cultural divides, and raising Boston’s profile as one of the world’s great jazz cities. For more information, visit www.jazzboston.org.
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