Sax soloist to be highlighted at Boyd band spring concert
Apr. 19—ASHLAND — Boyd County Middle School and High School bands will present a spring concert with a featured artist.
The concert, scheduled for 7 p.m. May 4 at the Paramount Arts Center, will feature Milton, West Virginia, native Dr. Benjamin Morris, saxophone professor at Morehead State University since August 2022.
Morris said he had once session to practice with the band on the song he will perform titled "A Gentle Rain."
"I didn't know it until John (Johnson, Boyd County band director) sent it to me," he said. "It's very pretty and very simple, and I believe he's going to do some kind of sound effects in the hall to kind of enhance the piece."
Morris never studied music under Johnson, but met him while Morris was an undergraduate at MSU.
"When I came back for the professorship here I've been in contact," he said. "We try to help out around with our band director friends around the state."
Morris studied music at Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Carnegie Mellon University and he studied music education at Morehead State University.
He said he's looking forward to performing with the band.
"I've enjoyed working with the students since August," he said. "John is a consummate showman. He really puts on great shows."
