Roy Harris

Roy Harris (1898-1979) was an American composer who rose to prominence in the 1940s and became famous for his stirring Symphony No. 3. Harris embraced the populist style of Aaron Copland in the 1930s and undertook studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris to smooth his rough edges. The combined influences resulted in music that alternated between a rugged, rural Americana flavor and the more refined colors and shadings of French orchestration. Harris never achieved another success to match the Third, but he continued to produce symphonies through the 1960s, and closed his career composing vocal, choral, and band music.