Biography

Harrison J. Collins (b. 1999; she/he/they) began composing at the young age of thirteen. Since then, she has made a name for herself across the United States as a skilled composer. She combines her 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.

His 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. He is 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 they seek 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 she studied with Dr. Neil Anderson-Himmelspach and Dr. Martin Blessinger. Harrison began her undergraduate studies at Illinois State University, where she studied composition with Dr. Roy Magnuson and Dr. Roger Zare.

Additional Information

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

Harrison’s works have been performed by ensembles of various levels in the US and beyond. They have 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-human 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 her know when you perform her works so that she can report those performances and get royalties! Seriously, please. She’s so broke.

Harrison is transgender—meaning she does not fully align with the gender assigned to her at birth—and genderfluid—meaning her perception and expression of her gender fluctuates. She does not expect you to keep up with said fluctuations (she hardly can herself, sometimes!); she only asks for the same basic respect afforded to any human being for their identity. She uses she/he/they pronouns. To learn more, read here.

When having their name written, printed, or otherwise reproduced in professional settings, Harrison strongly prefers that you include their middle initial—“Harrison J. Collins” rather than “Harrison Collins”. If you reach out to Harrison, they would prefer that you address them as Harrison, Ms. Collins, 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).

*What video game Harrison is currently playing through: I just completed the true ending of Silksong with 99% completion—so I am going to get that 100th percent, but I’m also going to spend some time playing the newly re-released RPG classic Off for the first time as well as re-visit my childhood by playing the new Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Galaxy 2 (yes, 2 specifically). Gotta get my time in on these before Pokémon Legends: Z-A comes out later this month!