Jonty Harrison

Jonty Harrison (born 1952) studied with Bernard Rands, Elisabeth Lutyens and David Blake at the University of York, graduating with a DPhil in Composition in 1980. From 1976 he was based in London, working with Harrison Birtwistle and Dominic Muldowney at the National Theatre and teaching at City University. In 1980 he joined the Music Department of the University of Birmingham, where was Director of the Electroacoustic Music Studios and of BEAST (Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre), which he founded in 1982. He was a Board member of Sonic Arts Network for many years (Chair 1993-96) and a member of the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council of Great Britain and of the Council of the Society for the Promotion of New Music. He played an active role in the musical life of Birmingham, making conducting appearances with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (most notably in Stockhausen's Momente); for ten years he was the Artistic Director of the Barber Festival of Contemporary Music. He retired as Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Music in 2014 and is now Emeritus Professor. He was Guest Professor of Computer Music at the Technische Universität, Berlin in 2010 and Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida in 2014. He held a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship in 2014-15 and is Compositeur Associé with Maison des Arts Sonores/KLANG! Acousmonium, Montpellier, France. 

He has been commissioned by several leading organisations and performers: Groupe de Recherches Musicales (INA-GRM, Paris); Institut international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB — formerly the Groupe de musique expérimentale de Bourges); International Computer Music Association; MAFILM/Magyar Rádió; Arts Council England; Electroacoustic Wales/Bangor University; IRCAM/Ensemble intercontemporain (Paris); Maison des Arts Sonores/KLANG ! Acousmonium (Montpellier); BBC; Birmingham City Council; Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Fine Arts Brass Ensemble; Nash Ensemble; Singcircle; Thürmchen Ensemble (Cologne); Compagnie Pierre Deloche Danse (Lyon); Darragh Morgan; John Harle; Beverly Davison; Robin Canter; Harry Sparnaay; Jos Zwaanenburg. He has won numerous prizes: Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (including a Euphonie d'Or for Klang, cited as one of the 'significant works' of the competition's history); Prix Ars Electronica, Linz; Musica Nova, Prague; Destellos, Mar del Plata, Argentina; Lloyds Bank National Composer’s Award; PRS Prize for Electroacoustic Composition. His music appears on four solo albums (empreintes DIGITALes, Montreal) and on several compilations (NMC, Mnémosyne Musique Média, CDCM/Centaur, Asphodel, Clarinet Classics, FMR, Edition RZ and EMF). 

 

Biography

Jonty Harrison (born 1952) studied with Bernard Rands, Elisabeth Lutyens and David Blake at the University of York, graduating with a DPhil in Composition in 1980. From 1976 he was based in London, working with Harrison Birtwistle and Dominic Muldowney at the National Theatre and teaching at City University. In 1980 he joined the Music Department of the University of Birmingham, where was Director of the Electroacoustic Music Studios and of BEAST (Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre), which he founded in 1982. He was a Board member of Sonic Arts Network for many years (Chair 1993-96) and a member of the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council of Great Britain and of the Council of the Society for the Promotion of New Music. He played an active role in the musical life of Birmingham, making conducting appearances with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (most notably in Stockhausen's Momente); for ten years he was the Artistic Director of the Barber Festival of Contemporary Music. He retired as Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Music in 2014 and is now Emeritus Professor. He was Guest Professor of Computer Music at the Technische Universität, Berlin in 2010 and Master Artist-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida in 2014. He held a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship in 2014-15 and is Compositeur Associé with Maison des Arts Sonores/KLANG! Acousmonium, Montpellier, France. 

He has been commissioned by several leading organisations and performers: Groupe de Recherches Musicales (INA-GRM, Paris); Institut international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB — formerly the Groupe de musique expérimentale de Bourges); International Computer Music Association; MAFILM/Magyar Rádió; Arts Council England; Electroacoustic Wales/Bangor University; IRCAM/Ensemble intercontemporain (Paris); Maison des Arts Sonores/KLANG ! Acousmonium (Montpellier); BBC; Birmingham City Council; Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Fine Arts Brass Ensemble; Nash Ensemble; Singcircle; Thürmchen Ensemble (Cologne); Compagnie Pierre Deloche Danse (Lyon); Darragh Morgan; John Harle; Beverly Davison; Robin Canter; Harry Sparnaay; Jos Zwaanenburg. He has won numerous prizes: Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (including a Euphonie d'Or for Klang, cited as one of the 'significant works' of the competition's history); Prix Ars Electronica, Linz; Musica Nova, Prague; Destellos, Mar del Plata, Argentina; Lloyds Bank National Composer’s Award; PRS Prize for Electroacoustic Composition. His music appears on four solo albums (empreintes DIGITALes, Montreal) and on several compilations (NMC, Mnémosyne Musique Média, CDCM/Centaur, Asphodel, Clarinet Classics, FMR, Edition RZ and EMF). 

 

Compilations with this composer

Compilations
Prime Cuts

Prime Cuts

NMC Recordings

Buy
Klang cover

Klang

NMC Recordings

Buy

External Links

Music Map

Discover more about the classical music of today with NMC's Music Map, and exciting and educational online tool which enables you to see and hear the connections between composers, their teachers, pupils, influences and their works.

Music Map