Biography

Harrison J. Collins (b. 1999) began composing at the young age of thirteen. Since then, he has made a name for himself across the United States as a skilled composer. He combines his musical studies in academic settings with years of self-teaching and a strong intuition to write music that challenges and connects to performers and listeners alike.

Their works for wind ensemble, orchestra, and chamber ensembles are published by Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, and more, and have been performed across the United States and internationally. They are a winner of numerous composition competitions, including the Sinta Quartet Composition Competition, the Dallas Winds Fanfare Competition, and the National Young Composers Challenge. Harrison is a proud representative and board member for the Millennium Composers Initiative, through which he seeks to provide opportunities for other composers to grow and reach new heights. In 2022, they founded the Aurora Tapestry Collective with their friends Kevin Day, Josh Trentadue, and Katahj Copley.

Harrison holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Texas Christian University, where he studied with Dr. Neil Anderson-Himmelspach and Dr. Martin Blessinger. Harrison began his undergraduate studies at Illinois State University, where he studied composition with Dr. Roy Magnuson and Dr. Roger Zare.

Additional Information

Harrison grew up in Little Elm, Texas. His primary interest in school was band, where he played both the bassoon and bass clarinet and served as a drum major for his high school marching band for two years, and for which he received the John Philip Sousa Award. Harrison also participated in the theater program, where they served roles as both an actor and a technician in many plays and musicals. Harrison is an avid video gamer* (mostly Nintendo, ask him for his Switch friend code!), animal lover, and eater of food. Harrison has a mild sensory disorder and is on the autism spectrum; he is proudly neurodivergent.

Harrison’s works have been performed by ensembles of various levels in the US and beyond. He has been described by various established composers as having “very fine skills” and “impressive, natural writing”, as well as “making a strong case for reincarnation” and being “REALLY DAMN GOOD”. At the age of 18, their wind ensemble work O rose of May was selected for performance by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wind Symphony, conducted by Alex Kaminsky, and received its world premiere at the 2018 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. It’s now listed on the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List along with three other works of Harrison’s: The Paper Man, These Radiant Moments, and Assurance.

In 2019, Harrison founded J Stands for Joe Music LLC through which to publish his works. Harrison is the President and CEO of this one-man company, which has the fringe benefit of clarifying what the J in his name stands for (it’s Joe).

Harrison is a proud member and Director of Public Relations for the Millennium Composers Initiative. Information for this group can be found via the MCI Website.

Harrison is also a founding member of the Aurora Tapestry Collective alongside friends and colleagues Josh Trentadue, Kevin Day, and Katahj Copley.

Harrison is also a proud member of ASCAP. Please let him know when you perform his works so that he can report those performances and get royalties! Seriously, please. They’re so broke.

When having his name written, printed, or otherwise reproduced in professional settings, Harrison strongly prefers that you include his middle initial—“Harrison J. Collins” rather than “Harrison Collins”. If you reach out to Harrison, they would prefer that you address them as Harrison or Mr. Collins, whichever feels most comfortable (although some clever high schoolers have called him “Mr. J. Collins” before and he doesn’t mind that either). He uses he/they pronouns.

*What video game Harrison is currently playing through: I’m right at the end of a run through of the original Octopath Traveler—although I played it many years ago, I never beat the game, so this is my first time actually making it all the way to the end! I have also been doing some runs of Portal and Portal 2 lately—I adore both games and can play straight through both in a matter of a few hours, so I often will do a handful of runs at a time when I play them. Finally, I just recently began playing Rain World—I don’t know if I’ll make it all the way through because goodness gracious it is hard, but I’m having a good enough time with it.