Michael Harrison is an American

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

composer and pianist living in New York City. He was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

for the academic year 2018–2019.

Early years

Born in

Bryn Mawr, PA Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

, Harrison grew up in

Eugene, OR Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, where his father,

David Kent Harrison David Kent Harrison (6 April 1931, Massachusetts – 21 December 1999, Barnstable, Massachusetts) was an American mathematician, specializing in algebra, particularly homological algebra and valuation theory. He completed his Ph.D. at Princet ...

was a professor of mathematics at the University of Oregon and a

for the academic year 1963–1964. As a child and teenager, he spent summers in both

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and Concord, MA with his grandfather,

George R. Harrison George Russell Harrison (July 14, 1898 – July 27, 1979) was an American physicist. Harrison became professor of experimental physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1930, and was appointed the school's dean of science in 1 ...

, a professor of experimental physics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(1930), and Dean of Science (1942–64). He studied piano from the age of 6, composition from the age of 17, and North Indian classical vocal music from the age of 18, and attended Phillips Academy Andover. Early passions also included backpacking and mountain climbing in the Oregon Cascades and Himalayas, downhill and cross-country skiing, and chess. He graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

with a B.M. in Composition, where he later received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award, and then moved to New York City to study with

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kno ...

through a

Dia Art Foundation Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Ménil, Dominique de Menil and an h ...

Apprenticeship-in Residency. He later received an M.M. in composition from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, studying with

Reiko Fueting Reiko (れいこ,　レイコ,　麗子, 怜子, 伶子, 玲子, 令子, 礼子, 禮子, 冷子) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese women's basketball player *Reiko Aylesworth (born 1972), an Ameri ...

Career

In 1986, Harrison designed and produced the "harmonic piano", an extensively modified grand piano with the ability to play 24 notes per octave. Critic Kyle Gann referred to it as "an indisputable landmark in the history of Western tuning". The instrument is described in the second edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments''. Harrison has been a serious student of Indian music, first as a disciple of master Indian vocalist

Pandit Pran Nath Pandit Pran Nath (Devanagari: पंडित प्राणनाथ) (3 November 1918 – 13 June 1996) was an Indian classical singer and master of the Kirana gharana singing style. Promoting traditional raga principles, Nath exerted an ...

(1979–1996), and currently, a protégé of Ustad

Mashkoor Ali Khan Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan is an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical singer and teacher from the Kirana gharana, Kirana musical style. As the grandson of Abdul Karim Khan, a founder of the Kirana style, he is a descendant of the gharana's ...

(1999–present). He is also the co-founder and president of th
American Academy of Indian Classical Music
(AAICM).

Academic appointments

Harrison has been on faculty at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

’s Contemporary Performance Program, and the Bang on a Can Summer Institute at

MASS MoCA The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ar ...

. He is music director a
Arts, Letters & Numbers

Discography

*2021 ''Seven Sacred Names'', ( Cantaloupe Music 21157) *2020 ''Just Constellations'',

Roomful of Teeth Roomful of Teeth is a vocal ensemble founded in 2009 by Brad Wells. Its stated mission is to "mine the expressive potential of the human voice".

(

New Amsterdam Records New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...

) *2018 ''For this from that will be filled'', Clarice Jensen (Miasmah Recordings 041) *2017 ''Histories'', Sophia Subbayya Vastek ( Innova Recordings 974) *2016 ''Harmonic Constellations'',

Mari Kimura (; born 1962) is a Japanese violinist and composer best known for her use of subharmonics, which, achieved through special bowing techniques, allow pitches below the instrument's normal range. She is credited with "introducing" the use of violin ...

( New World Records 80776–2) *2012 ''Time Loops'' with cellist Maya Beiser ( Cantaloupe Music 21086) *2012 ''Rumi: Lovedrunk (remastered)'' *2009 ''The Harmonic Series – A Compilation of Works in Just Intonation'' (

Important Records Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. The idea behind the label is to be like a good record store, with releases from diverse artists and genres. History John Brien started Important Records ...

272) *2007 ''Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation'' ( Cantaloupe Music 21043) *2001 ''Windham Hill 25 Years of Piano'' (Windham Hill Records) *1992 ''From Ancient Worlds'' (New Albion Records 042) *1987 ''In Flight'' (Fortuna Records 17042–2) *1985 ''Windham Hill Records Piano Sampler'' (WH 1040)

Compositions

*''Time Cycles'' commissioned and premiered by Alarm Will Sound,

Alan Pierson Alan Emanuel Pierson (born May 12, 1974, Chicago, Illinois) is an American conductor. His parents are Elaine Pierson and Edward S. Pierson, the latter an engineering professor at Purdue University Calumet. In Chicago Pierson took piano and compo ...

, conductor, Sheldon Hall, St. Louis, MO, 2019 *''Mureed'' for string quartet (commissioned and premiered by

Del Sol Quartet The Del Sol Quartet is a string quartet based in San Francisco, California that was founded in 1992 by violist Charlton Lee. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered thousands of works from a diverse range of international composers, including Terr ...

, Pacific Pythagorean Music Festival), 2019 *''Tone Rooms'' installation with media artist Jonathan Turner, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, 2019 *''Constitution'', versions for string quartet, cello and piano, violin and piano, clarinet and piano, and solo piano (premiere:

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a museum space dedicated to the exhibition of mid-20th-century modern art. The modern art museum is part of the new Levine Center for the Arts in Uptown. The museum building was ...

), 2019 *''Just Ancient Loops (cello octet)'' commissioned and premiered by Cello Octet Amsterdam, Singelkerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2018 *''Cello Constellations'' for cello with 21 pre-recorded cello tracks and electronics (commissioned and premiered by Clarice Jensen, The Kitchen), 2017 *''Bairagi Bhairav'' for just intonation piano, Indian vocals, tabla, and optional tanpura (premiere: Carnegie Hill Concerts, Church of Advent Hope), 2017 *''Harmonic Constellations'' for violin with 13 pre-recorded violin tracks and electronics (commissioned and premiered by

, National Sawdust), 2016 *''Chorale (from Just Ancient Loops)'' for string orchestra (premiere: String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Roulette), 2016 *''Malkauns: Polyphonic Alap'' for Indian vocalist and pre-recorded media (commissioned by Payton MacDonald for the Sonic Divide Project and Film), 2016 *''Hijaz Prelude'' for piano with optional tabla and tanpura (premiere: Sophia Vastek, Nitin Mitta and Michael Harrison, Queens New Music Festival), 2016 *''Kind of Glass'' for piano (premiere: Michael Harrison, Queens New Music Festival), 2016 *''Tarana'' for male Indian vocalist, soprano, piano, tabla and optional tanpura, 2016 *''Just Constellations'' for vocal octet (commissioned and premiered by

Roomful of Teeth Roomful of Teeth is a vocal ensemble founded in 2009 by Brad Wells. Its stated mission is to "mine the expressive potential of the human voice".

), 2015, revised 2016 *''Radians Phase II'' for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and electronics (premiere: Third Sound, Havana Contemporary Music Festival), 2015 *''Orchestral Modules'' for symphony orchestra (premiere: Manhattan School of Music Composers Orchestra), 2015 *''Radians Phase'' for string quartet, two flutes and electronics (premiere: Tactus, Manhattan School of Music), 2015 *''Jaunpuri (Rendition of a Raga)'' for piano, Indian vocals, tabla and tamboura (premiere: Kimball Gallagher,

, Anirban Chowdhury, Michael Harrison;

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

), 2015; version for cello, piano and tabla, 2014 *''Yaman Alap'' for vocal octet (commissioned by Roomful of Teeth, (premiere:

), 2014 *''Yaman Tarana'' for vocal octet (commissioned by Roomful of Teeth, (premiere:

), 2014 *''Tessellations'' for chamber orchestra, countertenor, tenor, tabla and tamboura (premiere: Contemporaneous, Park Avenue Christian Church, NYC), 2014 *''Orchestral Modules'' for chamber orchestra (premiere: Contemporaneous, Park Avenue Christian Church, NYC), 2014 *''Piano Modules'' for duo piano (premiere: Allison Franzetti & Benita Meshulam) 2014; version for solo piano, 2012 *''Harmonic Studies in Just Intonation'' for computer generated sine tones, 2014 *''Raga Prelude No. 2 (Hijaz Bhairav)'' for cello and guitar (premiere: Ashley Bathgate and Mak Grgic), 2014; version for cello and piano (premiere: Maya Beiser and Michael Harrison, Atlas Center for Performing Arts), 2013 *''Hijaz'' for SATB chorus, cello, piano, tabla & percussion (commissioned by

Francisco Núñez Francisco Núñez may refer to: * Francisco Núñez (conductor), American conductor and composer * Francisco Núñez (boxer), Argentine boxer * Francisco Núñez (politician), Spanish politician * Francisco Núñez Melián Francisco Núñez Mel ...

, premiere: American Choral Director's Association Director's Choir, Florida Theatre), 2013 *''Revelation Remix'' for electronics with prepared piano in

just intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to ...

, 2013 *''Bhimpalasi (Rendition of a Raga)'' for Indian vocals, just intonation piano, cello, vibes, and tabla, 2013 *''Just Ancient Loops'' for multi-track cellos with film by Bill Morrison (commissioned by MELA Foundation, premiere: Maya Beiser,

Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the cou ...

Marathon), 2012 *''Chant'' for string quartet (premiere:

JACK Quartet The JACK Quartet is an American string quartet dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in 2005 and is based in New York City. The four founding members are violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, viol ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

), 2012 *''Bragdon's Pavillion'' – multi media installation with artist Loris Greaud, Centre Pompidou, 2011 *''Raga Prelude No. 1 (Yaman Kalyan)'' for cello and piano (premiere: Maya Beiser and Michael Harrison, Atlas Center for Performing Arts); versions for violin and piano; viola and piano, 2011 *''Hijaz'' for youth or women's chorus, cello, piano, tabla & percussion (commissioned by Young People's Chorus of New York City,

, director; premiere: Maya Beiser, Michael Harrison, Payton MacDonald; Kaufmann Concert Hall), 2011 *''Tone Clouds'' for string quartet and just intonation piano (Revelation tuning) (premiere:

and Michael Harrison, Other Minds Festival), 2009 *''Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation'' for

piano (Revelation tuning) (premiere: Michael Harrison,

Klavier-Festival Ruhr The Klavier-Festival Ruhr (also ''Klavierfestival Ruhr'') is an annual festival of piano music, which takes place in the area of the Ruhr in Germany. The festival runs from around the beginning of May for three months. The organizer of the fest ...

), completed 2007 *''Wedding Song'' for voice and piano (premiere:

Theo Bleckmann Theodor Raoul Bleckmann (born 28 May 1966) is a German singer and composer. Biography Bleckmann was born in Dortmund, West Germany. He planned to be an ice skater before becoming a vocalist. In 1989 he moved to New York City and recorded his ...

and Joshua Pierce), 2004 *''From Ancient Worlds'' for

piano ("From Ancient Worlds" tuning) (premiere: Michael Harrison, Quattro Pianoforti Festival, Rome), 1992, revised 1999 *''Blue Camel'' for piano (premiere: Michael Harrison, Quattro Pianoforti Festival, Rome), 1999 *''For My Father'' for flute, violin, cello and piano, 1994 *''Song of the Rose'' for cello and piano, 1993 *''Symphonic Cortege'' for symphony orchestra (premiere: Eugene Symphony Orchestra,

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

, conductor), 1990 *''Birds of Paradise'' for jazz ensemble, 1990 *''1001 Nights'' for jazz ensemble, 1990 *''African Child'' for world music ensemble, 1988 *''Tactus'' for trumpet, piano and percussion, 1984–85 *''In Flight'' for piano, 1984 *''The Swan Has Flown to the Mountain Lake'' for flute, harp and cello, 1984; version for piano, 1983 *''Ecstatic poems of Rumi'' for soprano and piano, 1983–84 *''For Oboe'' for oboe, 1983 *''Reminiscent Dances'' for string Orchestra, 1982 *''Choral Work No. 1'' for vocal quintet, 1981 *''Choral Work No. 2'' for vocal quintet, 1981 *''Crystal Kyrie'' for two sopranos and 13 tuned crystal goblets (premiere: American Festival of Microtonal Music), 1979 *''Zikr'' for SATB chorus with soprano soloist, 1979 *''Atlantis'' for flute, clarinet, piano and tabla, 1979 *''Call of the Beloved'' for soprano, flute, harp and piano, 1979 *''Dance of the Sorcerers'' for flute, cello, piano, tabla and tamboura, 1978 *''Sonnet XVIII'' for alto and piano, 1977

References

Works cited

* * * * * * *

External links

Michael Harrison Official Site

Cantaloupe Music Artist Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Michael University of Oregon alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Pupils of La Monte Young Pupils of Pran Nath (musician) American male classical composers Contemporary classical music performers Composers for piano American classical composers Postmodern composers Minimalist composers Microtonal composers Electroacoustic music composers Just intonation composers Indian classical composers Hindustani composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1958 births