For 35 years, Don Morse served as Minister of Worship and The Arts and Administration at Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, where he coordinated the musical ensembles, worship experiences, fine arts events, and the arts staff. The Sanctuary Choir at Central Church, the predecessor of Canticum Novum, under the direction of Mr. Morse, performed throughout Europe, The Americas, the Caribbean and the Pacific Rim.  It was privileged to sing at the invitations of The Archbishops of Milan, Salzburg, Florence, Perugia, Sorrento, Athens, Berlin, Prague, Hradec Kralove, Madrid, Compostela, Seville, and Venice presenting concerts in cathedrals and the great Basilicas across Europe.

 

This choir was honored to have been selected as one of the first American Church Choirs to participate in the first Salzburg Church Music Festival and in 1998 by The Pontifical Society of Sacred Music, in Rome, to sing concelebrated mass in St. Peters Basilica and a private recital in The Sistine Chapel. The choir has performed for regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC), The American Guild of Organists (AGO), and United Methodist Denominational gatherings.

 

Mr. Morse has held regional and/or national offices in the Music Educator’s National Conference, the American Choral Directors Association, and the American Guild of Organists.  As a choral conductor, he has been guest clinician for numerous regional and all-state festivals, national religious gatherings, MENC Choral Festivals and ACDA Workshops and Conventions. He has served as Secondary Music Education Representative in the State of Massachusetts, and as Executive Director for The Alliance for Arts and Understanding also serving as President of the Board of Directors, as its Festival Director, and Dean of Continuing Education at many of its international events.  He has also served as President of the Phoenix Bach Choir (now Phoenix Chorale), as a member of its Board of Directors, and as chair of its conductor search committees. He currently serves as president of the Board of Directors for the Arizona Bach Festival, and as Executive Director of The Arizona Piano Institute. Through his consulting firm, Morse & Associates Consultants, LLC, he also serves churches, businesses, and non-profit organizations as consultant in Board Development, Human Resources Management and Development, Operations, Organ Design & Installation, and Facilities Design. Mr. Morse was educated at Boston University School for the Arts, The School of Theology at Boston University, and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, with degrees in Theology/Sacred Music, Organ Performance, and Choral Conducting.