Michael Harrison
Michael Harrison began playing the piano at the age of six studying both classical and jazz and went on to study composition at the University of Oregon and The Juilliard School. In 1977, he bought his first tamboura, a resonant Indian drone instrument, and the following year began intensive study of North Indian classical singing with India's master vocalist Pandit Pran Nath and his earliest American disciples La Monte Young and Terry Riley . Harrison was a disciple of Pran Nath until his passing in 1996 and continues his studies today with Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, making regular trips to India for periods of intensive study and practice. In addition, he teaches and performs concerts of North Indian classical music throughout the United States and India with Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Terry Riley, Steve Gorn, and as a soloist.
Fascinated with the beautiful resonances created by the overtone-based tuning system ("just intonation") used in Indian music, Harrison began applying these ancient principles to the piano, creating music with sounds that standard western tuning could not achieve. In 1980, seeking the guidance of the most innovative composer working with "just intonation," he came to New York City to study with the avant-garde visionary La Monte Young under the auspices of the Dia Art Foundation. Young's pioneering work was a crucial element in the growth and development of Harrison's music. Throughout the ensuing decade, he worked closely with Young, preparing all of the specialized tunings and scores for Young¡¯s six-hour magnum opus The Well-Tuned Piano. In 1987, at Young¡¯s invitation, Harrison became the only other person besides Young to perform the work, which he did from memory at Young¡¯s 30-year retrospective concert series.
In 1986, with the help of two expert piano technicians, Harrison created the ¡°harmonic piano,¡± a uniquely customized acoustic grand piano with the ability to alternate between two different tunings with one keyboard. The ¡°harmonic piano¡± evolved from the unique design features of Young¡¯s The Well-Tempered Piano custom B?sendorfer Imperial grand. The ¡°harmonic piano¡± allowed Harrison a range of tonal flexibility and tuning precision of unprecedented scope. Kyle Gann in The Village Voice hailed the ¡°harmonic piano¡± as ¡°a landmark in the history of Western tuning,¡± and Stephen Hill of National Public Radio called his work ¡°the first major tuning development in Western music since Bach.¡±
Michael Harrison is active as a teacher of North Indian singing throughout the New York area. He is currently working on a new major composition for the harmonically tuned piano, based on his newly created ¡°Revelation¡± tuning.
For the past 20 years, Michael Harrison has appeared frequently performing his music in concert throughout the United States. Performances in New York City have included Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. His composition, Symphonic Cortege, a tone poem for full orchestra, received its world premiere by the Eugene Symphony Orchestra and was played by the Juilliard Symphony. Harrison is the Artistic Director of the annual ¡°Sacred Arts Retreat¡± with Sufi leader Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Paul Horn. He has also composed and directed music for numerous concerts inspired by the poetry of the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, in collaboration with performer/translator Shahram Shiva. In November 1999, Michael Harrison was invited to participate in the ¡°4 Piano Festival¡± in Rome, Italy, with Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Charlemagne Palestine, where his music received both critical and audience acclaim.
Education
The Juilliard School, Extension Division, New York, New York
Studies in composition, orchestration and ear-training, January 1987 -
May 1988
University of Oregon, School of Music, Eugene, Oregon
Bachelor of Music in Composition, September 1976 - June 1983
Graduate studies in composition, September 1983 - June 1985
Phillips Academy Andover, Andover, Massachusetts
September 1973 - June 1976
Composer
1972 - Present
Compositions and Recordings
Performer
Solo piano recitals; "harmonically tuned piano" recitals; North
Indian vocal concerts as a soloist and with Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Pandit
Pran Nath, and Terry Riley; "Rumi concerts" in collaboration
with author/translator Shahram Shiva; and in collaboration with various
ensembles throughout the United States, and in Europe and India, 1974
- Present
Producer
Shalimar: Hovhaness Plays Hovhaness. Fortuna Records, 1988
Music Instructor
Private students in composition, piano, theory, improvisation and North
Indian classical vocal music, 1978 - Present. Workshops and lectures throughout
the Pacific Northwest, 1979 - August 1987; The Omega Institute, Rhinebeck,
NY, and throughout the United States, 1993 - Present
Artistic Director
Sacred Arts Retreat, The Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, August 1996,
August 1995; The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, NY, August 1993, August
1994, August 1998, August 1999
Tuning Technician/Composer's Assistant
Forty-two concerts and recording sessions of La Monte Young's six-hour
magnum opus The Well-Tuned Piano. New York, NY, February 1980 - October
1981; January 1987 - May 1987
Instrument Designer
"The Harmonic Piano," custom designed for work in just intonation,
capable of rendering 24 notes per octave with muting systems and controlled
sympathetic resonance. Completed July 1987
Scholarships & Awards
"Second Best Recording of 1992," for From Ancient Worlds, "New Sounds Listener's Poll," WNYC-FM, New York, NY
Meet the Composer Grant, American Festival of Microtonal Music, New York, NY, 1988
MELA Foundation Apprenticeship in Residency to La Monte Young, New York, NY, January 1987 - June 1987
Oregon Arts Commission Grant. Co-recipient with Joint Forces Dance Company, March 1985
Ruth Lorraine Close Awards in Composition, University of Oregon, Eugene,
OR, September 1984 - June 1985; September 1983 - June 1984
Private Studies
North Indian classical vocal music with Pandit Pran Nath, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Pandit Jagdish Mohan, Terry Riley and La Monte Young, New York, NY; Berkeley, CA; New Delhi, India, July 1978 - Present
Composition, piano, just intonation theory and tuning with La Monte Young, New York, New York, August 1979 - October 1981, January 1987 - 1991
Composition with Stanley Wolfe, New York, New York
January 1987 - June 1988
Harmony with Derek Healy, Eugene, Oregon
January 1986 - December 1986
Piano with Richie Bierach (jazz and improvisation), New York, NY, 1996
- 1998; Edward Kammerer (jazz) Eugene, OR, January 1986 - June 1986; Marlene
Thal (classical), Eugene, OR, July 1980 - June 1984; Victor Steinhardt
(classical), Eugene, OR, September 1976 - June 1979; Steven Labensart
(improvisation), Mt. Shasta, CA, 1978 - 1980; Wanda Eastwood (classical),
Eugene, OR, 1966 - 1967