Harris, Roy

Harris, Roy, 1898–1979, American composer, b. Lincoln co., Okla. Harris was a pupil of Arthur Farwell and Nadia Boulanger. He began to compose c.1925, ultimately producing more than 200 works. His early compositions displayed the melodic and personal expression that characterizes all his works. His most significant works include his When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1935), a choral work; Symphony for Voices (1936) to poems by Walt Whitman; the Third Symphony (1939); the Folksong Symphony (1940); Cumberland Concerto (1952); and the Seventh Symphony (1952). Outstanding among his numerous works of chamber music is his Piano Quintet (1936).

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Harris, Roy

 orig. LeRoy Ellsworth Harris

(born Feb. 12, 1898, near Chandler, Okla., U.S.—died Oct. 1, 1979, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. composer. He farmed and did odd jobs to support his music studies. After World War I he attended the University of California at Berkeley. In the 1920s he studied with Arthur Farwell (1872–1952) and Nadia Boulanger, building a reputation for craft and seriousness of purpose. Of his 16 completed symphonies, the third (1937) is the best known. His music, while unmistakably modern, has roots in folk song and is often sombre and plainspoken.

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Harris, Roy (Ellsworth) (1898–1979) composer; born in Lincoln County, Okla. Taking up music in his twenties, he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1927–28) and returned to quick success in the U.S.A. He taught in a number of colleges while composing steadily. His Symphony No. 3 (1939), permeated by American folk idioms, was a sensational success and popular through the 1950s; his later music, eventually including 15 symphonies, never quite recaptured the inspiration or success of that highly influential work.