Abby Yeakle Held, assistant teaching professor of oboe, and Casey L. Cook, collaborative pianist, present the premiere performance of Alyssa Morris' Seasons of Life collection of 13 individual character pieces for oboe and piano. Morris took inspiration from the calendar year and the themes, holidays, and memories associated with each month. This commission was funded by a generous gift from the Johnstones.
This event is free and open to the public. No ticket required.
Livestream broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m.
Oboist and composer Alyssa Morris has delighted audiences around the world with her “soulful” and “transcendent” musicianship (Fanfare). American Record Guide describes her playing as “stunning,” exhibiting “unmistakable virtuosity.” Morris serves as associate professor of oboe and music theory at Kansas State University, and as principal oboist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of the Smoky Valley. She has appeared as oboe soloist and chamber musician in venues throughout the United States, Scandinavia, the British Isles, Western Europe, Thailand and New Zealand. She performed as concerto soloist at the Kennedy Center, and with the Topeka Symphony in a performance of her original concerto, Dreamscape.
Morris is a co-founder of AGLOW Trio with flutist Karen Large and pianist Amanda Arrington. AGLOW Trio is committed to supporting the creation of new music, and since its formation in 2021, has commissioned new works by composers Reena Esmail, Grace Baugher Dunlap, and Tony Rodriguez. AGLOW Trio was a featured performing ensemble in the US and around the world. AGLOW Trio has been named a finalist in the 2022 American Prize Competition for Instrumental Chamber Ensembles, and released their first album, The Light Is The Same through Radium Recordings in 2023. The Light Is The Same can be heard on all streaming platforms.
Regarding her equally expansive work as a composer, Morris’ chamber music is performed extensively around the world. Her music is published by TrevCo Music Publishing, C. Alan Publishing, and Sleepy Puppy Press, and it has been recorded on the Blue Griffin, Centaur, Equilibrium, MSR Classics, Parma, Radium, SoundSet, and Tantara labels. Fanfare magazine writes the following about her compositions:
“Alyssa Morris…brings something that we don’t always hear in the music of our time — wit. Add to this a true melodic gift, an ability to evoke a range of moods, and a strong imagination, and the result is a composer whose music is gratifying even on repeated hearings.”
As a sought-after oboe and composition clinician, Morris has given performances and master classes to oboe/composition studios at numerous colleges and universities. Morris appeared as a featured artist for the SHE Women in Music Festival, resident guest artist for the Double or Nothing Double Reed Camp, and an adjudicator for the 2016 International Double Reed Composition Competition.
Morris earned her BM and MM degrees in oboe performance at Brigham Young University, where she studied with Geralyn Giovannetti. Morris earned her DMA in oboe performance with a cognate in composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Mark Ostoich, Dwight Parry and Lon Bussell. She lives in Kansas with her husband and two children.
All events are subject to change.
Getting Here
Park in the Arps Garage (open to visitors M–F after 4 p.m. and on weekends) just North of the Timashev Music building.
The Timashev Recital Hall is located on the ground floor, at the far north end of the building.