About

Morgan Ballard-Wheeler is a musical artist,
arts fundraiser, and photographer
based in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

Morgan is compelled to create music as a conductor. His training has included attending masterclasses headed by Paavo Järvi (Pärnu, Estonia) and Donald Schleicher (Boston, USA) and has conducted at workshops such as the International Conducting Institute (Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Zlín, Czech Republic) and the European American Musical Alliance (Paris, France).

Morgan’s principal instrument is viola, having obtained a Master’s from The Hartt School in 2022. He has played with training orchestras in Austria and Maine [the AIMS and Monteux Music Festivals, respectively]. Morgan is also a bass-baritone and is a current member of
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus and a lay clerk at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church. Morgan has also been a section leader for Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut and a guest artist for Berkshire Choral International at Tanglewood.

In addition to performing, Morgan is also a passionate arts administrator, currently working in philanthropy with Tucson Symphony Orchestra (since January, 2025). Past experience also includes internships with New York Youth Symphony and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

In 2020, Morgan received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. St. John’s engages all its students in a singular, rigorous course of Western philosophy, literature, music, mathematics, and science. While music is his path, the life of the mind is his raison d’etre. He sustains this life through occasional musings on his  blog.

Morgan’s main hobby is collecting vintage cameras and shooting on film.