Dreams Are Made Of

Text by Luiza Swierzawska. Images courtesy of Bianca Morris.

Bianca Morris fell in love with playing the flute at the age of 10.

She comes from a family of musicians, so her path to becoming one came naturally. It started in Philadelphia, her hometown, and continued when she moved to New York in 2022. 

She found herself in the oversaturated Big Apple art scene, constantly chasing after gigs and freelance opportunities. 

This made her want to start something on her own, something more stable.

What ensued was this year’s birth of an artist collective, Brio, a product of Bianca and her close friend and fellow flutist Justin Lee.

The name comes from the Italian musical term con brio.

“It means with spirit or vigor,” Bianca says. “We felt that this would best encapsulate how we felt about starting the collective.”

For the past few months, 11 classically trained musicians have been meeting twice per week to practice for their very first show.

On May 2 at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church in Lincoln Square, the Brio Artist Collective will present their meticulously crafted program of instrumental music that draws from traditional pieces but, in its interpretation, stays timeless.

Think Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” but without a large orchestra looking for a conductor’s lead. Instead, imagine a handful of instruments engaging in an intimate conversation, with symbiosis, romance.

That’s conveyed in the premiere’s title, Storytelling. Each of the Brio Artist Collective’s pieces is a story of its own, one that forms a bond among everyone present in the room. After all, human brains forge connections in response to captivating narratives.

“It’s all in the body,” Bianca explains. “It’s all in the way you communicate across the stage. It’s very interactive and intimate. The chamber music setup encourages a sense of shared experience rather than separation.”

With their debut approaching, the musicians of Brio are deep in rehearsal, guided by a clear vision: Make the grandeur of classical music feel inviting, removing the distance between performer and listener. 

It’s an ode to music as a connector we cannot always fully grasp.