Michael Harrison concert in NYC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMPOSER/PIANIST MICHAEL HARRISON
INCANTATIONS: MUSIC FOR THE HARMONICALLY TUNED PIANO
ROULETTE -- SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14 AT 9 P.M.

Composer/pianist Michael Harrison gives a solo concert of his own works
--
Incantations: Music for the Harmonically Tuned Piano -- at Roulette, 228
West
Broadway, on Sunday evening, November 14 at 9:00 p.m. In his only New
York
concert this season, Harrison will perform From Ancient Worlds (1991),
Celestial Suite (1981), and Blue Camel (1999). Tickets are $10. For
information and reservations, call 212-219-2527.

Continuing the legacy of his mentors, the minimalist composers La Monte
Young
and Terry Riley, and the legendary North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran
Nath,
Harrison's mesmerizing music and unique "harmonic tuning" draw on the
natural
musical scales and just-intonation tunings from the Pythagorean
tradition of
ancient Greece, as well as India, China and pre-Baroque Europe.
Characterized by poignant melodies, rich harmonies, and multi-layered
rhythmic patterns, his unique Indian-raga/African rhythm-inspired
compositions shimmer with exotic sounds and luminous overtones. His
acclaimed epic work, From Ancient Worlds, combines traditional harmony
with
modes and tunings rarely heard in Western music and gives full range to
the
sonic possibilities of the unusual, refined voicings of his music.

Michael Harrison received training in classical and jazz piano and went
on to
study composition at The Juilliard School. In 1978, he began intensive
study
with the renowned mystic singer Pandit Pran Nath and remained a close
disciple until the master's passing in 1996. Fascinated with the
resonances
created by the Indian overtone-based tuning system, he continued his
studies
with innovative composers La Monte Young in New York and Terry Riley in
California. Applying these ancient tuning principals to the piano, he
created the "harmonic piano," a uniquely customized grand piano designed
to
alternate between two different tunings with one keyboard. Through his
expertise in "just intonation" tuning systems and North Indian ragas,
combined with a deep understanding of Indian and Middle Eastern rhythms,
and
his innate gift for melodic composition, groundbreaking pianist/composer
Michael Harrison has created revolutionary new music for the piano.

"Harrison evokes glorious clouds of harmonics, from which emerge peals
of
divine thunder, angel choirs, celestial bells. Profoundly soothing,
[From
Ancient Worlds] constantly surprises with sparkling new sonorities."
-- Sandy McCroskey, The Nation

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