Ralph Winston Morris (born January 19, 1941 in Barnwell, South Carolina) is an American tubist. He served as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

and

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...

at Tennessee Tech University in

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller ...

, for 55 years, and subsequent to his retirement after the 2021-2022 academic year, was named Professor Emeritus of Tuba and Euphonium. Morris is editor of ''The Tuba Source Book'' and the ''Euphonium Source Book''. Morris earned his academic degree in music from East Carolina University in 1962. As the conductor of the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble, he started promoting jazz tuba performance in an ensemble setting as early as 1967. Morris created the first tuba/euphonium ensemble at Tennessee Tech. The Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble has performed under Morris' direction on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...

and at the

New Orleans Jazz Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

, the National MENC Conference in Kansas City, the International T.U.B.A. Conference in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C., and at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. The ensemble has also performed in Carnegie Hall 7 times, produced 22 commercial recordings—some which have been grammy nominated—and generated more than 600 compositions for the tuba, euphonium and tuba ensemble. Morris put together the first euphonium choir and organized the first recording project for euphonium choir. Morris studied under William Bell, tuba player for the

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

Band. Winston was also a member of the Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort with

Rich Matteson Rich A. Matteson, (born Richmond Albert Matteson, January 12, 1929, Forest Lake, Minnesota – June 24, 1993, Jacksonville, Florida) was an American jazz artist, collegiate music educator, international jazz clinician, big band leader, and jazz com ...

, Ashley Alexander, John Allred, Buddy Baker,

Harvey Phillips Harvey Gene Phillips, Sr. (December 2, 1929 – October 20, 2010) was an American tuba player. He served as the Distinguished Professor of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington (from 1971 to 1994) and was dedicated advocate ...

and Daniel Perantoni. Morris created and conducted Symphonia, a tuba/euphonium ensemble that was composed of top professional tuba and euphonium players from across the United States. A reunion concert billed as ''Tubas of Mass Destruction'' was held in 2007 at Tennessee Tech University, and included over 100 current and former students from his then-40 years of teaching. Throughout his teaching career, Morris has encouraged his students to arrange and compose pieces of music for the ensemble, which was necessary in the early days of the group, as there was virtually no repertoire for them to play.International Tuba Euphonium Association
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, R. Winston 1941 births Living people American classical tubists American jazz tubists American jazz composers Composers for tuba American music arrangers American music educators People from Barnwell, South Carolina 21st-century tubists American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort members