Biography

Born in Baltimore, son of 1930's-1950's Bandleader Vincenzo Pisano (Chauncey Cromwell) , Charles Morris (Pisano) began his musical training at age 5 at the Peabody Conservatory (Prep Division) studying piano and later adding music theory, ear training and vocal instruction until age 17 when he attended Lynchburg College, earning a BA Degree in Music and Vocal Performance. After college Charles returned to the Peabody Conservatory and continued studies In Opera Performance, and Conducting under Leo Mueller and Sergiu Commissiona.

In 1980 Charles entered the Juilliard School in the American Opera Center program under the auspices of Martin Smith. Opera studies included vocal pedagogy, and conducting (Sixten Ehrling, Jorge Mester and Laszlo Halascz) and vocal performances in Thompson’s “The Mother of Us All” (with Thompson in attendance), Puccini’s “La Rondine” and Stravinsky’s “Le Rossignol”. 

Upon finishing the AOC program, Charles sang two seasons with the Metropolitan Opera extra chorus in 79 performances of operas such as Parsifal, Lohengrin, Oedipus Rex, Les Troyens, Billy Budd and Die Meistersinger under conductors James Levine, Jeffrey Tate, David Atherton and Christof Perick, as well as singing for the American Ballet theater and New York City Ballet under conductor John Lanchbery.

Charles was also an assistant Cantor at Temple Emanu-El in New York City.

At home both onstage and in the orchestra pit, Charles is moving his career exclusively towards conducting. As a singer he is extremely aware of the pit/stage relationship necessary in any performance. As a conductor he “breathes” with the music allowing expression within the context of the overall structure of the work being performed, whether orchestral or opera. 

As a musicologist, Charles is a life-long student of the works of Richard Wagner and continues his studies of all of Wagner’s works. 

Charles lives with his wife, Candice Devey, in Leland, NC, a suburb of Wilmington, NC. 

He is currently managed by James Harwood of Harwood Associates in New York City.