Distinguished Artist Series Hosts Bolcom and Morris

by Katie Brooks, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Baylor University's School of Music welcomes the return of mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and pianist William Bolcom in its Distinguished Artist Series at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, in Roxy Grove Hall.

The duo is known for their vivid interpretations of popular American songs from the late 19th century through the 1920s and 1930s. They also feature the latest cabaret songs by Leiber and Stoller and other writers and Bolcom's own "Cabaret Songs," written for Morris with poet-lyricist Arnold Weinstein.

Bolcom and Morris have recorded more than two dozen albums to date, including their first and best-selling album, "After the Ball: A Treasury of Turn-of-the-Century Popular Song." The husband-and-wife duo is called "one of the great musical collaborations of our time," by the Boston Globe. The pair has performed at Baylor previously in 1990 and 1994, in addition to venues in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

"This concert will be a light-hearted entry in the [Distinguished Artist] series, containing pop tunes from Tin-Pan Alley and Broadway, performed in this couple's crowd-pleasing way," said Dick Veit, concert and promotions manager for the School of Music.

Veit said Bolcom and Morris put on a fun show. "It will be a new experience for many students as they hear tunes from another age, sung and played as they would have been in American music halls from 1880 to 1930," he said.

General admission tickets are $15 and student tickets are $10. Tickets are available from the School of Music box office at (254) 710-3571, or online at www.baylor.edu/music.

For more information, contact Veit at (254) 710-3991.