Richard Harris (composer)
Encyclopedia
Richard Harris is a London-based composer, arranger, transcriber, teacher and pianist.
Richard Harris studied composition
and orchestration
at the University of Edinburgh
, where his tutors included Kenneth Leighton
. At Edinburgh he co-founded the contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus, with whom he was a member until 2002, commissioning and performing works by Arvo Pärt
, Brian Eno
, Philip Glass
and Steve Reich
. The ensemble was signed to Decca
/Argo
, producing five CDs. Compositions by Harris feature on the Argo CD Loopholes, and in full on the ensemble's own CD Landscapes Of The Heart; he also produced successful arrangements of works by Terry Riley
and Thomas Ades
. His work Hexada was featured in the UK television programme The Score.
In 1992 Harris began teaching piano
, theory and A-level music at Westminster School
, where he himself had been a pupil.
In 1994 Harris became a published author with Faber Music
, and in 1997 was chosen by the film composer Carl Davis
to be his personal music arranger. Harris's books range from his own compositions and educational tutors to film, jazz and pop arrangements, and include collaborations with Evelyn Glennie
and Joanna MacGregor
.
In 1999 Harris's arrangement of Terry Riley
's Keyboard Study No.2 was chosen by Pete Townshend
as the supporting music for Townshend's Lifehouse concert at Sadler's Wells.
In 2000, Piano Circus collaborated with the German composer Heiner Goebbels
, and the resulting piece Scutigeras, entirely written by Harris and based on Goebbels' existing works, received a live premiere on BBC radio.
In 2004, Harris composed the music to Warriors, a successful show at the London Planetarium
.
In 2005, Harris created a website allowing users to request personalised sheet music, in the form of bespoke arrangements and transcriptions. The site has featured in many newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Telegraph
and Classical Music Magazine.
In 2009, Harris composed a big band piece for the Cardinal Vaughan Big Band entitled 'Addison Blues', which gave its world premiere performance at St. John's, Smith Square
Concert Hall, for a concert in aid of the British Heart Foundation
.
Harris also gives lectures with author Rob Eastaway
entitled Numbers and Rumbas, exploring the relationship between mathematics
and music
.
Richard Harris studied composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where his tutors included Kenneth Leighton
Kenneth Leighton
Kenneth Leighton was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include much Anglican church music, and many pieces for choir and for piano as well as concertos, symphonies, much chamber music and an opera. He wrote a well-known setting of the Coventry Carol...
. At Edinburgh he co-founded the contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus, with whom he was a member until 2002, commissioning and performing works by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
and Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
. The ensemble was signed to Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
/Argo
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
, producing five CDs. Compositions by Harris feature on the Argo CD Loopholes, and in full on the ensemble's own CD Landscapes Of The Heart; he also produced successful arrangements of works by Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
and Thomas Ades
Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès is a British composer, pianist and conductor.-Biography:Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and later composition with Robert Saxton at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London...
. His work Hexada was featured in the UK television programme The Score.
In 1992 Harris began teaching piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, theory and A-level music at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, where he himself had been a pupil.
In 1994 Harris became a published author with Faber Music
Faber Music
Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
, and in 1997 was chosen by the film composer Carl Davis
Carl Davis
Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
to be his personal music arranger. Harris's books range from his own compositions and educational tutors to film, jazz and pop arrangements, and include collaborations with Evelyn Glennie
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.-Early life:Glennie was born and raised in Aberdeenshire...
and Joanna MacGregor
Joanna MacGregor
Joanna MacGregor is a classical, jazz and contemporary pianist.-Biography:MacGregor grew up in North London, and was educated at home by her Seventh-day Adventist parents until she attended South Hampstead High School at the age of 11. Her mother is a piano teacher who studied at the Royal...
.
In 1999 Harris's arrangement of Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
's Keyboard Study No.2 was chosen by Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
as the supporting music for Townshend's Lifehouse concert at Sadler's Wells.
In 2000, Piano Circus collaborated with the German composer Heiner Goebbels
Heiner Goebbels
Heiner Goebbels is a German composer, music director and professor at Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen and at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland....
, and the resulting piece Scutigeras, entirely written by Harris and based on Goebbels' existing works, received a live premiere on BBC radio.
In 2004, Harris composed the music to Warriors, a successful show at the London Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
.
In 2005, Harris created a website allowing users to request personalised sheet music, in the form of bespoke arrangements and transcriptions. The site has featured in many newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and Classical Music Magazine.
In 2009, Harris composed a big band piece for the Cardinal Vaughan Big Band entitled 'Addison Blues', which gave its world premiere performance at St. John's, Smith Square
St. John's, Smith Square
St John's, Smith Square is a church in the middle of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable Trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored, the internal layout altered somewhat, and is now used as a concert hall....
Concert Hall, for a concert in aid of the British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
.
Harris also gives lectures with author Rob Eastaway
Rob Eastaway
Robert Eastaway is an author who is active in the popularisation of mathematics. He is a former pupil of The King's School, Chester, England and has a degree in Engineering and Management Science from the University of Cambridge. He was President of the UK Mathematical Association for 2007/2008...
entitled Numbers and Rumbas, exploring the relationship between mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
External links
- http://www.rfkharris.com