Trente Morant

"Remember, Music is supposed to be fun."

Trente MorantTrente Morant has been a Bay Area resident for over twenty years, becoming in demand as a conductor, arranger, accompanist and performer.  Mr. Morant is a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and while studying voice and conducting there, he had the opportunity to work with Eugene Ormandy, William Steinberg, Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta.

For five years Trente toured the country as performer-lecturer specializing in music from the Harlem Renaissance.  Mr. Morant also served as Musical Director for many theaters in the New York tri-state area for productions of West Side Story, Candide, Barnum, Pirates of Penzance, Music Man, Shenandoah, Pippin, Hair and Chicago, just to name a few.

For 19 years Trente worked with the Oakland Youth Chorus.  During those first years he was a three-time recipient of an “Artist in Residence” grant from the California Arts Council. Trente also conducted the chorus in performances and workshops with Bobby McFerrin, Charlie Haden, Nancy Wilson, Ed Kelly, Keith Terry, Dance Brigade, Linda Tillery, Jon Hendricks, Pete Seeger, and Voicestra. Trente also took the chorus on tour to New York, New Orleans, Jamaica, Canada, and Japan. Other credits include participating in the "Festival of Two Worlds" in Spoleto Italy, "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcasts, and concert versions of La Traviata, Julius Ceasar, The Magic Flute, and Dido and Aeneas. For eleven years Trente served as Musical Director for the Hayward Little Theater where he conducted numerous concerts with the 75 voice community chorus.

The last six years have been very busy for Trente. He conducted in both the Monterey and San Francisco Jazz Festivals, sang the role of the Swan with the Oakland Ballet in Carmina Burana, performed the role of "Sportin Life" in a concert version of Porgy and Bess with Michael Morgan and the East Bay Symphony. In 2004, Trente performed with the Alameda Civic Light Opera Company as the “leading player“ in their production of “Pippin”. For the last two summers Trente served as vocal director for productions of Ragtime, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Beauty and the Beast and King and I at the Woodminster Theater.