Kati E. Harrison

“All of my students will be able to walk out of our lesson with knowledge that they will carry forever. My goal is to give my students a basic musical understanding that will enrich their music appreciation throughout their lives. “

Title

Lecturer of Music

Education

  • Masters of Music, The Hartt School, West Hartford, CT 
  • Bachelors of Music, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 

Year Joined Franklin

2021

Expertise

As a violist/violinist I have enjoyed a prolific career as a performer, pedagogue, and lecturer. Originally from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, my diverse abilities have taken me across the USA, Austria, Germany, Mexico, and performing at the 2000 Winter Olympics in Australia. I am a certified adjudicator for Indiana State School Music Association and is a sectional coach working with many schools North of Indianapolis. I am also a violin and viola teaching artist with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (MYO), part of the Learning Community within the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and I maintain a full private lesson studio in Carmel.  

I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Theory and Composition from the Jordan College of Fine Arts at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. After Butler, I completed a Masters of Music degree in Music Theory from The Hartt School in West Hartford, CT. My focus included rhythmic structure and displacement as well as psychoacoustic analysis. In the summers, I participated at festivals, including Aspen Music Festival and Bang on a Can at MASS MoCA.  

I have studied viola with Bette Lebovic, Keith Conant, Roland Vamos, Csaba Erdelyi, and Michael Strauss. I have taken voice lessons with John Hacker of the Chicago Lyric Opera. My composition teachers include: Robert Ian Winstin, Frank Felice, and Michael Schelle. I am an active freelance violist for weddings and private events and a musician with the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, and an Associate Principle in the Anderson Symphony Orchestra and Muncie Symphony Orchestra, as well as a substitute violist for many symphonies within the area. 

How can studying music impact students lives in the long-term?

I want my students to be able to feel the emotional quality behind music. Music is something that stirs the human spirit. An unknown author once said the reason we teach music is to be more human, to recognize beauty, to be sensitive, to be closer to an infinite beyond this world, to have something to cling to, to have more love, to be more compassionate, to be more gentle, to be more good- to experience more life. He finished by saying, of what value will it to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live? 

Selected Professional Accomplishments

  • Sigma Alpha Iota Member and National Officer 
  • Indiana State School Music Association Certified Adjudicator 
  • Indiana American String Teachers Association Member 
  • Society for Music Theory Member and Past Presenter 
  • American Viola Society Member and Past Presenter 
  • Sigma Alpha Iota Convention Grant – 2018 
  • Sigma Alpha Iota Professional Development Grant -2019 
  • Indianapolis Arts Council Grant -2020, 2021 

What Students Say

“Professor Harrison immediately made me feel welcome in String Ensemble MUS125. She brings an air of acceptance and compassion into class, and this attribute helped create a sense of community in our classes.” – Morgan Nelson ‘24 

“I have really enjoyed having Professor Harrison as a string instructor! She challenges students to try new things and go outside their comfort zone. She makes ensemble class and individual lessons exciting!” – Abigail Davis ’22 

“Professor Harrison is a cheerful instructor who always finds a way to make learning fun” – JaSaun Johnson 2023 

In My Spare Time…

I volunteer with Community Cats of Hamilton County. Our organization actively Trap, Neuter, Returns feral cats in the county as well as maintaining colonies of feral cats. Our goal is to educate the public of the benefit of TNR and help control the pet population.