William Bolcom and Joan Morris at Town Hall, 1985

Joan Morris (born February 10, 1943) is an American

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Profile
, bolcomandmorris.com; accessed May 30, 2016. and cabaret singer.

Life and career

Born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, her musical partner and husband is

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

. The couple specializes in older popular songs, primarily from the first half of the 20th century, but extending beyond that to include both contemporary cabaret, popular songs of the

Gay Nineties The Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term and a periodization of the history of the United States referring to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the United Kingdom as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedly ...

, and a number of songs dating back to the 1860s. Their recordings for Nonesuch, RCA, Columbia and Arabesque include songs by the great songwriters of the 1920s and 30s such as Kern, Gershwin, Porter, and Rodgers and Hart. They also have performed and recorded songs by the rock-and-roll team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Together, they have taught at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for many years. Morris' performance style is nuanced and vibrant, and she is noted for honoring original versions of songs with historical accuracy. In early 2015 she announced that she and Bolcom would begin to curtail both the length and number of their concerts, offering the next year as an ad hoc "Farewell Tour" after which they would limit performances to "cameo appearances".. 2018 saw the publication of "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," a brief memoir of her singing career and handbook of her approaches to song interpretation and performance.

Select discography

*''After the Ball: A Treasury of Turn-of-the-Century Popular Songs'',

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...

, 1974, H-71304 (Grammy Nominated) *''Who Shall Rule This American Nation? (with Clifford Jackson and The Camerata Chorus'',

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

, 1976 *''Vaudeville: Songs of The Great Ladies of The Musical Stage'',

, 1976 *''Wild About Eubie (With Eubie Blake)'', Columbia, 1977 *''These Charming People (with Max Morath)'',

RCA Red Seal RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

, 1978 *''The Girl On The Magazine Cover'',

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1979 *''Blue Skies'',

, 1979 *''Other Songs By Leiber and Stoller'',

, 1980 *''The Rodgers and Hart Album (with Lucy Simon)'',

, 1981 *''More Rodgers and Hart (with Max Morath)'',

, 1983 *''Silver Linings'', Arabesque, 1984 *''Black Max: The Cabaret Songs of Arnold Weinstein and William Bolcom'',

, 1985 *'' Lime Jello: An American Cabaret'',

, 1986 *''Let's Do It'', Omega, 1989 *''Night and Day'', Omega, 1993 *''Fountain Favorites From The World of Coca-Cola (with Max Morath)'', Coke, 1994 *''Orchids In The Moonlight'', Arabesque, 1996 *''The Carioca'', Arabesque, 1997 *''Moonlight Bay'', Albany, 1999 *''Bolcom and Morris Sing Yip Harburg (with Max Morath)'', Original Cast, 2003 *''Bolcom and Morris Sing Gus Kahn (with Max Morath)'', Original Cast, 2004 *''Someone Talked!'', Equilibrium, 2009 *''Autumn Leaves'', White Pine Records, 2015

Sources

Profile
FilmReference.com; accessed May 30, 2016.

References

External links

June 29, 1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Joan Living people 1943 births American mezzo-sopranos Musicians from Portland, Oregon Cabaret singers University of Michigan faculty Singers from Oregon American women academics Albany Records artists 21st-century American women