morris collier, emeritus asst. concertmaster

Morris Collier, Emeritus Assistant Concertmaster of Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra and first (sometimes second) violinist of the Lincoln String Quartet has been a resident of Lincoln and a member of LSO's first violin section for the last 54 years. He has been a violinist (sometimes violist) with the LSQ for 53 years and plays first violin with the Nebraska Symphony Chamber Orchestra. He also played first violin with the Omaha Symphony for 23 years, first and second violin and viola with the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra from its beginning, and first violin with the Nebraska Sinfonia, the Joslyn Chamber Orchestra, the Hastings Symphony, the Nebraska Camerata Orchestra Berlin Tour (as concertmaster) and the Des Moines Symphony and has been concertmaster of many college, community and church orchestras throughout Nebraska. Morris also served as temporary concertmaster of Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra and the Lincoln Little Symphony, the Omaha Symphony and the Omaha Pops Orchestra.

He has appeared as a violin soloist with the Nebraska Wesleyan University Orchestra, Concordia University Orchestra, Joslyn Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Municipal Band, and Tri-City (Neb.) Youth Symphony and as a viola soloist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. He was a violinist with the NWU Trio during its Nebraska Touring Grant performances from 1979-1981.

His teaching includes 53 years as a private string teacher, 17 years as a string specialist with the Lincoln Public Schools, one year as assistant professor of music at Kansas State University while on sabbatical from NWU, six years as a string teacher at St. John's Lutheran School (Seward, Neb.) and three semesters at Concordia College (now Concordia University). He received the Nebraska ASTA Private Teacher of the Year award in 1994 and with his wife, Aleta Collier, received a Mayor's Arts Award in 1995. He was inducted into the Nebraska Music Educators Association Hall of Fame in 2002 and jointly with Aleta received the NMTA Distinguished Teacher of the Year award in 2003. Morris is listed in Who's Who in the Midwest, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. He is a NMTA Nationally Certified Teacher of Violin.

Morris was born and raised in Clinton, Okla., and participated in the public schools orchestra as a violinist (he was concertmaster for three years) and in the concert and marching bands (he was first horn). He played horn in the Clinton Municipal Band and violin in his teacher's church orchestra. Upon graduation in 1942 he entered the University of Oklahoma as a violin performance major but continued in the university's marching bands as second horn (occasionally first horn) and played first violin with the University Symphony Orchestra. His studies were interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy (1943-1946). His final rating was Aviation Ordnanceman (Turret) 2C.

In 1946 Morris resumed his studies at OU and continued the above activities. After graduation in 1949 with a BM in violin he entered the Eastman School of Music as a master's degree candidate and was granted a MM in Theory in 1951. After moving to Lincoln he continued violin study at UNL. He began his work in the Lincoln Public Schools as a traveling string specialist in the fall of 1951. His efforts in teaching strings made possible the birth of the Lincoln Youth Symphony a few years later. A number of Morris' former students have continued the performance and teaching of violin and viola in many areas of the United States including Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island. He currently teaches 50 or more private string students, ages 3 to 60ish, per week.

Morris had as his principal violin teachers R.A. Lloyd, Paul S. Carpenter, Margaret Kennedy Farish, Millard Taylor and Emanuel Wishnow. He has, over the years, participated in numerous festivals and workshops such as Rocky Ridge (as a performer and teacher), Aspen Music Festival, Starker Seminar (as a performer), UNL Great Plains Session (as a teacher), Nebraska ASTA workshops (with Paul Rolland, Gerald Fischbach and Zvi Zeitlin), the Ottawa (Kan.) Suzuki summer workshop (pre-twinkle emphasis). As president of the Nebraska ASTA, he organized several state workshops with Janos Starker, Samuel Applebaum, Zvi Zeitlin and others. He performed and taught several summers in the Brownville Summer Music Camp. He served NMEA as orchestra chairman for two years.