Biography:

Cathy Morris, electric violinist, has a passion for sharing music with audiences of all ages and everyone can tell! With a presentation that virtually commands the listener's eyes as well as their ears, she conveys her genuine enthusiasm for music and life! A native Hoosier, Cathy was raised in Columbus, Indiana and studied classical violin at Indiana University.

A veteran “free lancer” for years she experienced music from all different styles and perspectives playing for weddings, restaurants, private functions and with numerous classical orchestras. She has also performed in back up string sections with Andy Williams, Pia Zadora, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacarach, The Moody Blues, Electric Light Orchestra, Sandy Patti, Ann Murray, Wayne Newton, Sara Brightman and The TransSiberian Orchestra.

Her educational initiatives started in 1989 when she became affiliated with Young Audiences of Indiana. With her string quartet, The Silken Strings, she would stretch the musical perception of string playing by performing samples of classical, jazz, latin, bluegrass and country music in school convocations throughout the state.

In 1990 she met guitarist/composer Royce Campbell who encouraged her inclinations to play an alternative style, to buy an electric violin and start writing her own compositions. Together they formed what is now known as Collage. Combining contemporary jazz spiced with Latin rhythms, funk grooves and even some Cajun fun she has created her own distinctive sound that she calls "Party Jazz"!

With five CDs of original music recorded under her name, Cathy has appeared as a guest artist on countless other recordings, performed on numerous stages in and outside of the United States and "opened" for many others such as Burt Bacarach, fourPlay, Rick Braun, Wayman Tisdale, SpyroGyra, Najee, Chuck Mangione and George Benson to name just a few.

Performances outside of the area have taken them to communities throughout the tri-state area and also included a twelve-concert tour of Japan as well as appearances before President Clinton, Mikhail Gorbacev and most recently in front of 200,000 at the Formula One opening ceremonies.

In addition to her early days with Young Audiences she now also takes Collage to the schools, performs workshops on string improvisation at numerous schools and music camps across the nation as a Yamaha artist. A regular collaborater with Middle school and High school orchestras and bands her arranged original scores gives students the chance to play with her and the band!

In 2000, one of the first Creative Renewal Fellowship recipients, Cathy used her $7,500 grant award to produce a seminar on string improvisation here in Indianapolis. Indianapolis String Improv was a weekend long event that hosted nationally known experts and interested people from across the nation who witnessed concerts and workshops on alternative and improvised string playing.

Cathy says that she is a believer in “the greater good for the whole.” and says that she tries to convey this in all of her actions. She believes we are all here to serve one another, to be a role model for our children and compassionate towards our neighbors. She believes that we all really do make a difference in making the world, the earth a better place and will invite you to read the liner notes of her 5th CD in an attempt to convey her hope for life.