Griffin Harrison (Percussion '23) Featured on WHYY's "On Stage at Curtis"
The 2023 Curtis graduate performs pieces by Andy Akiho, Étienne Perruchon, and Ari Hoenig, and shares how he found his inner beat and knew that percussion was his passion in life
“There’s something really special about Curtis. It’s a small school, but everyone here is so focused, really loves the music, and gets along with each other. You would never know that we come from a million different countries. Everybody comes together…which is pretty amazing, especially given the state of the world right now.” —Griffin Harrison
Season 18 of WHYY’s acclaimed On Stage at Curtis series continues with a portrait of recent graduate Griffin Harrison (Timpani and Percussion ’23). The Rochester, New York native grew up in a musical family—his grandfather was a woodwind player on Broadway, his father a guitarist in rock and punk bands, and his mother was a music teacher for many decades. He took piano lessons in elementary school, began studying percussion at age fourteen, and recalls jamming with his father in their family basement, playing on a self-taught drum set as a child. Later, in middle school, as the jazz band hadn’t an opening for him, he joined the concert band and was taught how to play the timpani, xylophone, and other classical percussion instruments.
Mr. Harrison attended the School of the Arts in his hometown, ultimately becoming a Pathways Scholar through the Eastman School of Music, a scholarship program designed to provide financial assistance for inner-city students. There, he studied with his inspiring music teacher, Ruth Cahan, to whom he attributes his success and musicianship as an artist. Before attending Curtis and studying with Don Liuzzi, Eric Millstein, and Ji Su Jung, Mr. Harrison received a diploma with honors from the Eastman Community Music School and a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from Temple University and hopes to secure a position with a professional orchestra and teach at a university or college in the future.
He has attended the National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival and School, Festival Napa Valley Blackburn Music Academy, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the New York State Summer School of the Arts’ School of Orchestral Studies. He has also been a member of the Festival Orchestra Napa, the NYSSMA Conference All-State Symphonic Band, the MCSMA All-County Symphonic Band, and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
In this episode of On Stage at Curtis, he tackles Étienne Perruchon’s Cinq Danses Dogoriennes, Andy Akiho’s Stop Speaking, and Astor Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango. Click HERE to watch the On Stage at Curtis episode, or click the video below.
Photos of Mr. Harrison courtesy of Nicole MCH Photography and courtesy of Irene Yoonseo Kang and the Aspen Music Festival.