“Morgan is a many-splendored musician who can shape a line to realize to the fullest extent the intentions of the composer. On the podium he is a figure of engaging authority.” - The Boulder Daily Camera
“Under the skillful direction of Thomas Edward Morgan, [the Ars Nova Singers] put across the full expressive power of this amazing music.” - The Denver Post
“Energetic and extraordinarily intuitive direction.” - The Boulder Daily Camera
The Artistic Director and Conductor of the Ars Nova Singers has been acknowledged as a leading interpreter of new music in Colorado. Under his leadership the choir has become one of the premiere ensembles in the region.
Mr. Morgan received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and the Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Colorado. In addition to his work with Ars Nova Singers, he currently serves as Music Director of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder, a position he has held for twenty years. Mr. Morgan studied choral and orchestral conducting with Dale Warland, Helmut Rilling, Giora Bernstein, and has taken master classes with Eric Ericson and Herbert Blomstedt. In addition to his work with Ars Nova, Morgan has assembled and prepared choruses for the Boulder Bach Festival, the Colorado Music Festival, the Colorado MahlerFest, and the Boulder Philharmonic. Recent collaborative efforts include a production of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the Boulder Philharmonic (February, 2008), a critically acclaimed performance of Terry Riley’s Sun Rings with the renowned Kronos Quartet (July, 2006), and an unusual production of Carmina Burana with the Colorado aerial dance company Frequent Flyers. He is presently preparing the Ars Nova Singers for the Colorado premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s cantata Oceana, presented in collaboration with the professional chamber orchestra Pro Musica Colorado.
As a guest conductor, Morgan has led the Colorado Music Festival’s Chamber Orchestra, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Boulder Sinfonia, the St. Cecilia Singers, a University of Colorado faculty composer’s chamber ensemble, and the Denver Bach Ensemble. He was invited to conduct a chamber ensemble for George Crumb’s Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death at the International George Crumb Festival, with the composer present.
As a composer, Mr. Morgan has recently been an artist-in-residence of the Lucas Artists program at the Montalvo Center for the Arts in Saratoga, California (January, 2006 to January, 2008). He collaborated with New York visual artist Lesley Dill in the production of a new extended work for a cappella chorus, I Heard a Voice, premiered by the Ars Nova Singers in September of 2002. His composition Psalm 88 for orchestra and chorus received the prestigious BMI Award, and his choral work Four Poems of e. e. cummings was presented on the opening program of the eighth Internacional Musica Nueva festival in Mexico City. He is the composer and arranger of numerous church anthems.
Mr. Morgan is the founder of the Ars Nova Singers, and has served continuously since the organization’s inception in 1986. Under his guidance, the ensemble has presented more than 300 performances, and produced 9 independent recordings.