Alyssa Morris was born in 1984 and serves as Associate Professor of Oboe and Music Theory at Kansas State University, and as the principal oboist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of the Smoky Valley, a member of AGLOW Trio, and a sought-after oboe soloist and recitalist.

As a composer, Alyssa’s chamber music is performed extensively around the world. Her music has been presented at several International Double Reed Conventions, the Japan Double Reed Society Convention, the National Flute Association Convention, the National Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, and the Society of Composers Inc. National Convention.

Four Personalities (composed in 2007) is a four-movement work for oboe and piano based on the Hartman personality test. 

• Yellow: Yellow is fun-loving. The joy that comes from doing something just for the sake of doing it is what motivates and drives yellow. 
• White; White is  peacekeeper. White is kind, adaptable, and a good listener. Though motivated by peace, white struggles with indecisiveness. 
• Blue: Blue brings great gifts of service, loyalty, sincerity, and thoughtfulness. Intimacy, creating relationships, and having purpose is what motivates and drives blue.
• Red: Motivated by power, red is aggressive and assertive. Red is visionary confident, and proactive. 

Four Personalities was given the following review in The Double Reed:

“She composed this fun, entertaining work basing the four movements on the colors used by the Hartman Personality Test… Four Personalities is a lot of fun for oboist, pianist and audience alike. Highly recommended for college and professional recitals.”

In the short video below, Rong-Huey and Vivian are rehearsing “Red”, the last movement of Alyssa Morris’ “Four personalities” ahead of the September 14-15 concerts.