Music in the Somerset Hills and the Morris Museum present Dan Tepfer’s Natural Machines



(MORRISTOWN, NJ) — On February 4, 2024, Music in the Somerset Hills and the Morris Museum are teaming up to present Dan Tepfer’s Natural Machines, a Live Arts performance by the internationally acclaimed pianist-composer that explores the intersection of science and art. Showtime is 3:00pm.

Lovers of piano and technology alike will marvel at the displays of light and sound devised by Tepfer. In the Artist’s own words, “Natural Machines is a project where I explore the intersection, in music, between natural and mechanical processes. I improvise at the piano, and programs I’ve written on my computer interact with me in real-time as I’m playing, both musically and visually…The visualizations I’ve made are intended to reveal the underlying musical structure of each piece. They’re generated in real-time as I play. Everything on the screen is a direct representation of some aspect of the music: pitch, dynamics, rhythm, harmony.”

The New York City-based Tepfer, born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released eleven albums of his own in solo, duo and trio formats. One of his generation’s extraordinary talents, Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging innovation, individuality, and drive—one “who refuses to set himself limits” (France’s Télérama). He has also been hailed by New York Magazine as “One of the moment’s most adventurous and relevant musicians.”

Tickets for this performance are $33 General Admission, $28 for Morris Museum members, and $18 for age 25 and under. Tickets are available for purchase online. The Morris Museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown, New Jersey.

The purchase of a ticket to the performance also includes access to Morris Museum’s many exhibits. Concertgoers can arrive earlier in the day to fully explore, or browse before the museum closes at 5:00pm after the concert ends around 4:15pm. There will also be a special Curator-lead Guinness Gallery demonstration at 2:00pm in the Guinness entry gallery, highlighted by performances of Morris Museum’s 1925 Knabe Baby Grand Reproducing Piano, by the hands of 20’s jazz icons like: Jelly Roll Morton, Henry Lange, Zez Confrey & more.

Music in the Somerset Hills is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to create musical experiences of the highest quality for those who live and work in the Somerset Hills and the surrounding area. They work to curate performances and educational opportunities that positively impact the lives of people from all walks of life. Founded in 2010, the organization is committed to educating and inspiring individuals and communities through music.

The Morris Museum—founded in 1913 and located on 8.5 sylvan acres in Morris Township, New Jersey since the mid-1960s—draws visitors from across the region to its dynamic and acclaimed art exhibitions program and performing arts events. Its 45,000+ object collection of art and material culture from around the world join the art of our time in displays throughout the Museum’s purpose-built spaces and within the historic Twin Oaks mansion, designed by McKim, Mead & White.

Photo of Dan Tepfer by Paolo Pavan ’21