The Music of C. Dean Morris

At Ouachita, I was most fortunate to meet Dean Morris, a composition student from Louisiana. We fast became friends, brought together by a desire to learn from Dr. McBeth. Not only did we study a great number of composer's works, but we also became sounding boards for each other's music. I was blessed by Dean's friendship, sincere faith in God, incredible flute playing, and compositional skill. While at Ouachita, Dean won the Student Oswald Composition Prize for his piece "Ptarmigan". A piece picked up for publishing by Southern Music Company under the title "Cassation".
After Ouachita, Dean attended North Texas State and began composition studies with Martin Mailman, but soon decided his place was serving as a Worship Pastor and transferred to Southwestern Seminary where he completed his Master's Degree and then went on to serve in several churches.
After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Dean passed away far too soon in 2009. At my request, Lynne was very gracious in allowing me to borrow Dean's manuscripts for the purpose of preserving them and making them available. Here are a few of Dean's band pieces from our student days at Ouachita with Dr. McBeth. A special thank you to Dr. Craig Hamilton and the Ouachita Wind Ensemble for the recordings.

Asleep at Piegan - C. Dean Morris

00:00