Harmonia COMPOSITION STUDIO
Julie harris
Composition, Orchestration, Film Scoring, Informed Listening, Score Reading & Analysis, Music Theory, Ear Training, Music History
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Harmonia COMPOSITION STUDIO
building Community through music
building Community through music
All Harmonia lessons are given online, powered by Zoom...
Gustav Klimt's painting "Musique" represents our Harmonia composition studio
“Ah, Music. A magic far beyond all we do here!” — Albus Dumbledore
Harmonia - Julie Harris
Harmonia - Julie Harris
Harmonia, headed by composer and educator Julie Harris, is a composition studio which has made a name for itself across the state, the southeast, the U.S., and internationally as a magnet for creativity and prize-winning compositions. Harmonia is committed to building community through music, and works with performers, music teachers, film makers and composers in a world-wide network of sharing and nurturing musicians.
Most Harmonia students have mastered or are mastering one or more musical instruments, and continue to study performance with another teacher while they study composition with Julie. Many Harmonia students go on to major in composition in college, and pursue music as a career. Our alumni have attended Colburn, Julliard, Jacobs School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Trinity University, Eastman, New England Conservatory, the Glenn Gould School of Music, and other music schools and conservatories.
Our program is tailored to each individual's special interests and needs.
Depending on the student's interests, background, and goals, they may study any combination of the following disciplines:
Composition - solo instruments, art songs, chamber music, full orchestra
Orchestration - learning about all orchestral instruments, timbre, blending, balance
Film scoring or writing video game music
Use of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for composing and producing
Score reading and analysis
All students participate in "Informed Listening", creating individual listening lists to reflect their goals and interests. All students have the opportunity to attend a monthly MusicExchange Zoom session which hosts musicians and music lovers from all over the world. Harmonia students often give online presentations in the monthly Music Exchange.
All students learn advanced music theory, music history, and ear training, using workbooks, online theory games, and class discussion. Harmonia students who major in music usually place out of music theory when they go to college!
Best of all, Harmonia students develop a lifelong passion for music. We all have a great deal of fun while creating or performing the highest quality music! If you’d like to contact Harmonia for lessons, or to perform any of our newly composed pieces, you can reach Julie through email:
JulieRHarris@aol.com
Julie Harris - Composer and Educator
I have taught some extremely creative and talented students over my decades of teaching classical composition, film scoring, theory, informed listening and many other aspects of musicianship.
We've had so many exciting achievements in our musical journey, that I want to share some of these special moments with you!
Below you will see highlights of the past few decades - hope you enjoy this special musical journey.
Harmonia welcomes students who study performance with other teachers
2014: Gabe Crist rehearses Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise" with Julie. He began studying composition at age 5, as he quickly mastered violin, cello and piano with some wonderful teachers!
2024 Update: Gabe currently studies at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.
2017: Alexander McDowell performs Vivaldi. Alexander and his brothers studied violin and cello with other teachers as they pursued composition studies with Julie for many years.
2024 Update: Alexander is currently taking an extensive theory class with Julie, in preparation for his college placement exams.
2022: Annika Joshi records a Chopin Ballade. Annika continued her piano studies with several teachers when she began studying composition with Julie.
2024 Update: Annika is completing her studies with Julie, and will be entering Stanford in September, with a double major in biomaterials and music composition.
2023: Raphael Mouawad has won many composition awards, including becoming a National Finalist in the prestigious MTNA Composition Competition.
2024 Update: During the many years Raphael has been studying composition with Julie, he also studied jazz piano with Erich Lieth, and currently studies classical piano with Akiko Yamazaki.
Harmonia welcomes students of all ages
2011: Charles Higgins, Michael Jon Bennett and Noah Balamucki formed part of the High School Brigade at one of our studio Christmas parties. Many students form friendships in Harmonia that last a lifetime!
2012: Gianni Rinaldo ("G") and Ursula Brown ("Ula") discuss Baby Einstein, music, and lollipops. G began studying composition just before he turned 5. He could sing a wide variety of symphonic themes and declared that his favorite composer was Burgmuller!
2013: Julie with adult students Janese Frantz (bottom left) and Susie Kim Park (top center). Janese returned to music after a thirty-plus-year hiatus spent raising a family and building a career as a nurse. Susie had always wanted to compose, but waited until retirement to begin lessons.
2017: Julie takes a bow with 10 of her composition students, who range in age from 9 to 60-something. The youngest student we've ever had was almost 5 and the oldest was 85!
Harmonia students are endlessly creative
Harmonia students are encouraged to "think outside of the box", and they invariably come up with incredibly creative ideas! Unique and exciting orchestration, original poetry and photos to accompany their music, turning school rules into art songs - the list goes on and on!
2011: Eight-year-old Gabe Crist playing drum on his "Native American Suite" written for drum, two violins, flute, viola, sleigh bells, two guitars and pipe organ. That's Gabe in the left-hand back corner with the two huge drum sticks. Gabe's performers included high school and college students and professional musicians.
2013: "June" by student composer Grace Gollmar , was one of the highlights of our "Beautiful Night in June" live concert.
2013: Student composer Grace Gollmar wrote the poem, composed the music and sang soprano in the Virtual Choir that recorded "June". Musicians and sound engineers from Finland, Scotland, California, Connecticut and North Carolina created the virtual recording, which we presented at our "Beautiful Night in June" live concert.
2013: Julie conducts "Winter Forest" written by Harmonia student Charles Higgins, as Chapel Hill artist Cam Cline paints what she hears. The performers include students from other studios and professional musicians from the area.
2013: After the concert, Cam presented Julie with the finished painting inspired by "Winter Forest", which still hangs in the Harmonia studio to this day!
2015: Student composer Sylvia Wang set William Carlos Williams' "This Is Just to Say" to music ("I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox ..."), using tongue-in-cheek musical references, including imitations of Wagner's Tristan progression, and quirky quotations from Ives's "Unanswered Question". What fun!
Harmonia students win prestigious awards
Every year, Harmonia students enter the MTNA Composition Competition. Year after year, Harmonia students have been State Winners, Division Winners, and National Finalists. One of our students even won the MTNA National in 2010! Perhaps the most exciting award was when two Harmonia students - Annika Joshi and Alex Moiseev - were Finalists in the 2022 Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards! When Alex was announced as the winner, you could hear the shouts of joy for miles around! You can listen to Alex Moiseev's winning piece below:
2010: Ten-year-old Michael Jon Bennett posing with the poster of winners at the MTNA National Convention! Michael won the MTNA Composition Competition National Finals in the Junior age group. His winning piece "Stained Glass and Birds" was written for violin and piano, and premiered at the National Convention.
2022: As the crowning point of his high school composition studies with Julie Harris, Alex Moiseev won the prestigious Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award for his piece "Aquatic Colors". His piece was inspired by a short film called "Jonas and the Sea". Click on the player below to hear his winning piece:
Harmonia students collaborate on exciting community projects
Ten plays … each ten minutes long … ten playwrights … ten actors … nine directors …
To this exciting mix, add nine young composers, ranging in age from 13 – 25 years old.
Pure magic – and a wonderful evening of entertainment!
Harmonia composition students collaborate with the 10 by 10 Play Festival, presented by Odyssey Stage
All the Original Music was written by Harmonia students
Summary for Harmonia Studio and Julie Harris
Education:
A.A. Music Theory and Composition, Brevard College, Brevard, NC
B.A. Music Theory and Composition/Math, Duke University, Durham NC
My post-graduate teachers / Lineage:
Dan Locklair: His teachers included Samuel Adler at Eastman, 1979 Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph Schwantner
Ken Frazzell: His teachers included Roger Sessions at Juilliard, Robert Ward at UNCSA
Robert Ward: 1962 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music
Specialties:
Composition
Orchestration
Film scoring
Informed listening
Score reading and analysis
Music Theory
Ear Training
Music History
Contact me with questions, or to begin lessons:
JulieRHarris@aol.com
essons:
All lessons are taught online via Zoom
Composition students will be given a placement test in theory
Weekly or biweekly lessons
All lessons are one hour long
Advance composition students may opt for hour and a half lessons
Lessons are tailored to the individual needs and interests of each student
A warm, supportive, joyous environment for you or for your child!
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