Electric violinist Cathy Morris is a regular on concert stages where she combines contemporary jazz originals with familiar standards. With five albums under her name, she most recently re-invented her sound in the Brazilian jazz arena. Dedicated to education, Morris conducts youth workshops, performs at convocations, and works as a solo artist with student and community orchestras.
Artist Style: Music: Childrens Music, Classical, Experimental, Jazz, Multimedia, Pop, Wedding; Electric Violin
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Electric violinist Cathy Morris has a passion for sharing music with audiences of all ages and everyone can tell! With a presentation that absolutely engages and captivates the listener she conveys her genuine enthusiasm for music and life. Combining contemporary jazz spiced with latin rhythms, funk grooves, fusion, rock, blues and even some cajun fun she has created her own distinctive sound that she calls “Party Jazz.”
As a performer you’ll find her in a broad range of arenas: concert and festival stages in the US and abroad, at world wide events including the opening ceremonies for the World Swimming Championships, Indianapolis International Violin Competition and in front of 250,000 people at the Formula One and Indy 500 races. Cathy and her band have opened for a number of national artists such as Al Jareau, Burt Bacharach, George Benson, Chuck Mangione, Rick Braun and Najee to name a few and repeatedly headlined Indy Jazz Fest, Elkhart Jazz Festival and numerous other music series thruought the Midwest for over 15 years. You can also see Cathy as a featured guest soloist with numerous school and community orchestras and jazz bands performing her arranged originals. As a musical ambassador she’s performed for world leaders and dignitaries including Mikail Gorbachev, the Prince and Princess of Serbia, President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton and First Lady Laura Bush among others. As a recording artist she has five CDs of original music in addition to her nationally acclaimed holiday disc “A Cathy Morris Christmas,” the ’05 release, “Cathy Morris Latin Jazz” showcasing all Brazilian jazz and the ’06 release, “Sacred Romance,” violin and piano duets accompanying the Sufi poetry of Rumi and Hafez.
It’s a commitment as an educator that puts her in front of and collaborating with literally thousands of students each year performing convocations, conducting workshops and performing her original music in side by side concerts with student orchestras. As published composer and arranger you can find Cathy’s jazz standards for string quartet available thru JAZZWISEPUBLISHING LIMITED and her original work for strings at www.morethanmozart.com and FJH Music Company, Inc.
To her credit as a producer is the annual IJF Holiday Jazz Showcase now in it’s 12th year benefiting the United Christmas Fund: the CD “Here For You,” a recording of all Indianapolis women’s music benefiting the Indianapolis Women’s Fund and Sacred Romance, benefiting WICR radio program “Journey’s Fire.”
Arts With A Purpose
Arts For Learning
2015 Cheryl Strain Award
2013 Creative Renewal Fellowship
2005, 2006 Indianapolis Women’s Magazine Female Musician of the Year
2005 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant
2004 Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 IPS Celebration of Peace Award
2002 Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Community Service Award
2000 Creative Renewal Fellowship