Want to Subscribe?
Sign In or Sign Up now!

Born in Canada, Morris was a founding member of the Juno nominated alternative rock band treble charger (RCA/BMG) from 1993 to 1996. Upon leaving the group, Morris moved the The Netherlands to study percussion at the Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag, and then to California to pursue a Doctorate degree under renowned percussionist Steven Schick at the University of California, San Diego. Morris's wide range of musical interests have found him performing throughout North America, Asia, and Europe at various festivals and concert venues. Some of these have included the Acousmania Festival in Bucharest, the Agora Festival (IRCAM) in Paris, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Seoul International Computer Music Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) 2004 and 2005, the Quincena Festival in Spain, the Music Gallery in Toronto, as well as at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall under famed conductor/composer Pierre Boulez. He has also performed at the La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest Festival, the Holland Festival, participated as a soloist at The Banff Centre for the Arts, has appeared at the Amsterdam Percussion Festival, and on CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada show with Shelagh Rogers. Morris has performed solo recitals and guest lectures at the University of Birmingham, UK, Arizona State University, Stanford University, the Oberlin Conservatory, Queens College, Mercer University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Kentucky, the University of Maryland (College Park and Baltimore County), the University of Toledo, the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the University of Virginia.

As a Novelty Jazz Xylophonist, Morris founded the Speak-Easy Duo (Colin McAllister, guitar) in 2003 and has appeared at the Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival in Boulder, CO, the Bohem Festival in Hungary, the Rotterdam Conservatory, the Orange County RagFest, the Breda Jazz Festival, NL, the West Coast Ragtime Festival, the Ragtime Xylophone Institute in Delaware, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and the Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag.

In 2000, Mr. Palter co-founded NOISE (San Diego New Music), and was a member of the percussion group redfish bluefish (Artistic Director, Steven Schick) from 1999-2005. Mr. Palter is also actively involved with theatre, having been a composer and performer at both The Old Globe Theatre (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and the La Jolla Playhouse (The Scottish Play). In February of 2005, Morris composed music for the McCaleb Dance Company for the piece entitled Post and Lintel. Morris has also made recordings for various on and off Broadway plays

In the summer of 2006, Morris co-found the duo group Metasax/DRUMthings with composer/saxophonist/technolog y artist Matthew Burtner. To date, the duo has performed in Paris, Seattle, Toronto, New York City, Alaska, and San Diego.

Morris is the Artistic Director of Ensemble 64.8 (UAF percussion ensemble), the Artistic Director for the University of Alaska Fairbanks New Music Festival, the World Music Artistic Coordinator for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and the Co-Artistic Director for the SoundON Modern Music Festival held each year in San Diego. Morris is dedicated to commissioning both solo and chamber works and has collaborated with artists such as Steven Schick, Bob Becker, Pierre Boulez, Roger Reynolds, Cho-wen Chung, John Luther Adams, Scott Deal, Evelyn Glennie, David Lang, Matthew Burtner, Stewart Saunders Smith, Thomas DeLio, Michael Roth, Philip Manoury, Iancu Dimitriescu, Chris Tonkin, Chinary Ung, Aiyun Huang, Mark Duggan, Derek Keller, Scott Wilson, Lisa Cella, Colin McAllister, Christopher Adler, and Erik Ulman.

Morris is a member of the Percussive Arts Society New Music/Research Committee and has been published in PAS Magazine and the San Diego Troubador Newspaper and is currently endorsed by Black Swamp Percussion, Ayotte Drums, and Paiste Inc. Morris can be heard on New World Records, Tzadik Records, Mode Records, Innova, and RCA/BMG. His solo CD was released on Centaur Records in 2006. He Has received degrees from the University of Toronto, the Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag, and the University of California, San Diego where he received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2005. Morris was a Lecturer in Music at UCSD during the 2006/07 academic year and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Morris will be the host for the Focus Day of Percussion at the 2010 Percussive Arts Society International Convention. For more information, please visit www.pas.org.