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David Morriss
Now based in Aotearoa’s capital city, David was raised on a Mid-Canterbury farm which he describes as a wonderful upbringing. His mother was a piano teacher, but he describes the moment he fell in love with classical music as pure chance. One day at high school he put a cassette tape on in the senior common room just to annoy everyone: Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary.
“It was meant to be a prank, but then there was a passage in the music when a bass note resonated through the room, and for some reason I was hooked. It was an awakening - as if all of a sudden the universe opened up before me.”
David went on to gain a BMus and BA (Music). At one time he worked as a singing teacher, and he still occasionally sings as a bass soloist with groups such as Baroque Voices.
A senior presenter with RNZ Concert, David says it’s a privilege to spend time in the company of his wonderful colleagues, but also Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Mozart and others. He refuses to choose just one favourite composer, citing his love for Bruckner, Lully, Haydn, Handel, Brahms, Tartini as just the beginning of a longer list.
He’s able to pin down one favourite live concert experience however - The Vienna Philharmonic playing Sibelius and Bruckner in Paris's Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on the very last day of a holiday in Europe.
“It was phenomenal. I have never heard such beautiful string playing before or since; and it was a strange kind of beauty that conveyed incredibly deep emotional meaning, not just on-the-surface prettiness.”
RNZ Programmes
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Evenings
Join David Morriss for a little night music.
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The Musical Omnivore
David Morriss shares his love of scratchy records, classic artists, baroque-fever, and passion for the great romantics from Bruckner to Mahler.
More Concert Presenters
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Bryan Crump
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Programme: Three to Seven
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Andrew Clark
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Programme: Mornings
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Nick Tipping
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Programme: Inside Out
Search results for David Morriss
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Realising a dying man's wish: recording Matt Dibble's 24 Preludes & Fugues
27 Nov 2024When his close friend Matt Dibble died suddenly, Jon Hargreaves was determined to realise Matt's dream to have his preludes and fugues recorded by the pianist Freddy Kempf. Video, Audio
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New Zealand Youth Choir: The Firefly Wakens
25 Nov 2024The New Zealand Youth Choir is preparing for a major overseas tour in 2025, which will include a couple of significant choral competitions. And coming up soon, there are going to be some pre-Christmas… Audio
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Beer plays the blues
20 Nov 2024Auckland Philharmonia's Concertmaster, Andrew Beer, is soloist for the New Zealand premiere next week of Wynton Marsalis' Violin Concerto. Audio
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The complex work of a conductor
13 Nov 2024Vasily Petrenko returns to Aotearoa to conduct New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concerts in Wellington and Auckland. He talks with RNZ Concert's David Morriss about the complex job of a conductor, which… Audio
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Coming home from the circus
30 Oct 2024Marcus Norman, recently appointed manager of Christchurch arts venue The Piano, talks with Bryan Crump. Audio
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Celebrating the music of Pelham Humfrey
29 Oct 2024It's 350 years since the death of English composer Pelham Humphrey at age 27. Corrina Connor talks with RNZ Concert's David Morriss about why he should be remembered, and his contribution to English… Audio
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Celebrating Helen
9 Sep 2024Cellist Polly Sussex and writer and teacher Carole Acheson talk with RNZ Concert's David Morriss about a special concert coming up later in September. Audio
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Divagations, Doodlings and Downright Lies
26 Aug 2024Lyell Cresswell's posthumously published autobiography is a wonderfully quirky read. RNZ Concert's David Morriss talks with one of the book's editors, Scilla Askew, about the composer and his music. Audio
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Benjamin Northey: looking back, looking forward
26 Jul 2024The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra's Chief Conductor is celebrating 10 years with the orchestra. He talks with RNZ Concert's David Morriss about some of the highlights and challenges of the past… Video, Audio
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Sibling support, not rivalry
11 Jul 2024Among the ten semi-finalists in this year's prestigious Lexus Song Quest are two brothers: baritone Alfred and tenor Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono. They talk with David Morriss about their love of opera… Audio
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Grand plans with a grand piano
10 Jul 2024Young pianist Ben Kennedy is this year's recipient of the Upper Hutt Grand Piano Trust Scholarship. He talks with David Morriss about his upcoming concert, and a trip to Switzerland next month where… Audio
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Lilburn Research Fellowship for 2025 announced
9 Jul 2024Congratulations to music scholar Professor Samantha Owens, who's just been awarded the Lilburn Research Fellowship for 2025. She talks with RNZ Concert's David Morriss about her research topic for the… Audio
