About Andrew
Andrew Harrison is a versatile Melbourne-based composer and pianist who navigates the worlds of art music, jazz, theatre, and film, with a keen sense of history and narrative. The composer's artistic philosophy and compelling compositions have been championed and performed by leading new music exponents in Australia and the United States, and his works are celebrated for their depth and emotional power. With an extensive body of work that includes pieces for orchestra, choir, and chamber ensembles, a focus on music education, and a flair for story-telling, Harrison's music receives performances both nationally and internationally.
Recent commissions include A Crashendo Symphony (2025), written for the Crashendo! music education program in Melbourne, the EP Time Is Truth (2025), a recording of his 2022 jazz song-cycle, and Lament for Matthew Shepard (2022) for SATB choir and flexible orchestral forces. Harrison has created works commemorating historical events, including If Not In This World (2018) for the WWI armistice centennial, Hum (2016), a collaboration with Detroit poet Jamaal May, and The Drumfire Was Incessant, and Continued All Night With Unabated Fury (2012) for solo piano. His composition Gassed Shell (Severe) (2014) was premiered by Paul Grabowsky and the Monash Art Ensemble, and subsequently recorded. In addition to concert music, Harrison has composed for theatre - including his widely used score for The Laramie Project - and for over a dozen short films. The composer was the founding pianist and a composer for the Australian jazz quintet Shol and directs The Andrew Harrison Trio. In 2020, Harrison received a PhD in Music Composition from the Australian National University, where his thesis, "Sounding Out The Past," won the J. G. Crawford Prize for Interdisciplinary Research. The composer is a Represented Composer at the Australian Music Centre. Harrison lives in Melbourne with his wife and two sons.
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