Biography

Harrison Chiang (b. 2006) is a composer and instrumentalist from Southern California. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.

His music explores rich melodic and harmonic possibilities paired with dense contrapuntal textures. He is drawn to instrumental colors and expanded ensembles, creating works that feel grounded in traditional forms yet striking in sound. He has composed for wind band, orchestra, clarinet choir, and chamber ensembles, often pairing familiar traditions with unexpected timbral choices.

His wind symphony work Dreams of a Faded Wonder won the inaugural Thornton New Music for Wind Ensemble Competition. In August 2025, he was in residence with the Plattsburgh Clarinet Choir in New York for the premiere of his low clarinet choir work Solemn Bliss, as well as performing with the ensemble during the residency. Other works include his marches Resolute and Windswept, which engage with the tradition of the American march while blending elements of other stylistic influences, re-evaluating the march as an expressive artistic form.

Chiang is an active performer on bass trombone and clarinet, specializing in lower members of the family including alto, bass, and contra clarinets.

Alongside composing and performing, he designs and builds instruments, modifications, and accessories. Projects such as his contrabass clarinet extensions and a modernized F bass trombone grew from both fascination with unusual and historical instruments and practical performance challenges. His experience as a composer, performer, and maker shapes his approach and understanding to orchestration, ensemble balance, and the physical realities of playing.