Coty Raven Morris (center) directing the Thorn Choir.
Coty Raven Morris, Hinckley Assistant Professor of Choir, Music Education and Social Justice, has been selected by Yamaha for their 2025 list of “40 Under 40” – 40 music educators under the age of 40 who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to furthering the field of music education.
The 40 educators were chosen from among hundreds of nominations by members of their community, such as students, fellow educators, parents, administrators, instrument dealers, and mentors. Those selected demonstrate the traits that Yamaha believes make an outstanding music educator: action, creativity, courage and a commitment to growth.
“[I have] the privilege of teaching and working with a multitude of ensembles and future music educators to prepare them for the field through the lens of social justice,” Morris said. “Growth in a community does not only come with action, but with patience for evolution in ourselves and others.”
This has been a momentous year for Morris. In March 2025, Morris served alongside Rollo Dilworth and Jason Max Ferdinand as the Principal Conductors for Choirs of America’s Harmonic Convergence Concert, the culminating performance of the 2025 COA Nationals for Top Choirs festival at Carnegie Hall in New York. In June, she will be accompanied by PSU’s Rose, Thorn, and Briar Choruses as she returns to Carnegie Hall as the Composer-in-Residence for the All Choir Directors Chorus produced by Choirs of America in association with Harmony Productions. As part of that trip, the Briar Chorus (the combined Rose and Thorn Choirs), conducted by Morris, will perform a concert in Carnegie Hall.
Next year, in 2026, Morris plans to tackle yet another endeavor to build community through a new collaboration – this time with Path Home, an organization dedicated to serving houseless families.
“Portland State students, under my supervision, will serve as teachers and leaders for youth and parent ensembles in a community that helps houseless families with resources and finding permanent homes,” Morris said about the upcoming collaboration.
Coty Raven Morris holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music from Texas State University. In 2024 and 2025, she was a finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award. She has been awarded many other accolades, such as the Hays CISD Linebarger Academic Recognition Award for 2013 & Galena Park ISD's Dazzling Diamond Award in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 for outstanding mentorship and leadership in her field. Morris is the founder of Being Human Together, a community of music educators focused on normalizing and tackling conversations around challenging subjects such as mental health and systemic oppression. She is also a highly sought-after choral clinician, speaker, composer, newly published author, and host at All Classical Radio and the International Children’s Arts Network.
Learn more about Coty Raven Morris and her work with PSU’s Choirs.