Lisa E. Harris Explained

Lisa E. Harris
Training:Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Mannes College of Music
B.M. - Vocal Performance
Manhattan School of Music
M.M. - Vocal Performance
Nationality:American

Lisa E. Harris, (born 1981) also known as Li, is a multimedia artist, opera singer, and composer.[1] She is renowned for her interdisciplinary work using voice, text, installation, movement, and new media.

Early life and education

As a child, Harris participated in various performances at Epiphany Episcopal Church, as well as other regional theaters in the Houston area. She was part of a children's chorus with the Houston Grand Opera.[2] She graduated from Houston’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 1998 and went on to perform as a soloist at the Aspen Opera Theatre Center from 2001 to 2002.[3] In 2002, she received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a minor in Composition from the Mannes College of Music, and in 2004, received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance with a Minor in Piano from the Manhattan School of Music.[4] Harris received her foundational classical vocal technique under the tutelage of Ruth Falcon at Mannes College of Music. Harris studied in the studio of Marlena Kleinman Malas from 2002-2004.

Work

Trained as an opera singer, Harris is an interdisciplinary artist working in music, performance and installation and video. She was on the Humphrey's School of Musical Theatre's voice faculty.[5] Harris’ work revolves around various themes such as African-American motherhood, gentrification and notions of abduction and survival. Genres that she pulls from in her work include science fiction and magical realism. She has also worked collaboratively most often working with other performance artists including Alisha Wormsley, Autumn Knight, Rashida Bumbray, Nicole Mitchell, and Abijan Johnson, on projects.[6] Harris, along with Wormsley, is co-founder of Studio Enertia, an artist collective presenting works in sculpture, installations, film, photography, performance and new opera.[7]

Career

Harris is a filmmaker, librettist and composer who created Cry of the Third Eye - a new opera film in Three Acts. She has screened installations of this work and the completed work with Aurora Picture Show and the Houston Public Library. The world premiere of The Last Resort, act Three of Cry of the Third Eye- a new opera film in Three Acts by Harris, was premiered at Houston Cinema Arts Festival in 2019.[8]

The Last Resort by Li Harris was on virtual exhibition at Washington Project for the Arts in 2020, as a part of the exhibition Black Women as/and the Living Archive, curated by Tsedaye Makonnen.[9] [10]

In 2018, Harris performed with her theremin at Red Bull Music Presents: Round Robin in Chicago alongside numerous classical, jazz, hip hop, and electronic musicians. In 2019, she performed live performance of voice and theremin at Moogfest and at Ballroom Marfa’s Festival, Marfa Myths in Marfa, Texas.[11]

Harris has worked with filmmakers Ashley Hunt, Cauleen Smith, Alisha Wormsley, Raymond Pirtle, Ennest Waddell.[12] Harris can be seen as the lead singer of Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party.[13] Notable live performances with the Fats Waller Dance party include the Newport Jazz Festival’s Fort Stage, Monterey Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Sarejevo Jazz Festival, Nice Jazz Festival, International Festival of Jazz Montreal, Spoleto Jazz Festival, and the Playboy Jazz Festival.[14]

Harris is a featured vocalist on the album All Rise: A Joyful Elegy to Fats Waller by Jason Moran, produced by Meshell N’degeocello and Don Was, on Blue Note Records.[15]

Harris performs as Orkney Woman and six other additional characters in the world premiere of The Nubian Word for Flowers- a phantom opera written by Pauline Oliveros and Ione. This world premiere took place at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, New York and was produced by the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Harris and her production company Studio Enertia, petitioned for the City of Houston to proclaim May 30, 2019 as Pauline Oliveros Day. To commemorate the occasion, Harris produced the inaugural Pauline Oliveros Day on May 25, 2019 at Discovery Green, Houston.[16] [17]

Fellowships and awards

Discography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Frank. Priscilla. 2014-08-20. 14 Artists Who Are Transforming The Future Of Opera. 2020-08-04. HuffPost. en.
  2. Web site: August 28. Beth Rankin on. AM. 2012 at 10:42. 2012-08-28. Lisa E. Harris brings modern art music to Crockett Street. 2020-08-04. cat5. en-US.
  3. Web site: Alvarez. Olivia Flores. 2014-02-26. 100 Creatives 2014: Lisa E. Harris, Performing and Visual Artist. 2020-08-03. Houston Press.
  4. Web site: August 28. Beth Rankin on. AM. 2012 at 10:42. 2012-08-28. Lisa E. Harris brings modern art music to Crockett Street. 2020-08-03. cat5. en-US.
  5. Web site: Alvarez. Olivia Flores. 2014-02-26. 100 Creatives 2014: Lisa E. Harris, Performing and Visual Artist. 2020-08-03. Houston Press.
  6. Web site: 2013-03-21. A Collaborative Review of Futz: Autumn Knight's Experimental Research Method and Performance Series. 2020-08-04. Temporary Art Review. en-US.
  7. Web site: 2013-07-30. 'No Matter How Hard I Try I Can't Look The Same as I Did Yesterday' Fresh Arts August 29 - September 27. 2020-08-03. Houston Chronicle.
  8. Web site: Cry of the Third Eye: The Last Resort. 2020-08-03. HCAS. en-US.
  9. Web site: Black Women as/and the Living Archive Washington Project for the Arts. 2020-08-03. Wpadc.org.
  10. Web site: 2020-06-17. Check Out Tsedaye Makonnen's "Black Women as/and the Living Archive" via WPA ⋆ BYT // Brightest Young Things. 2020-08-04. BYT // Brightest Young Things. en-US.
  11. Web site: Marfa Myths. 2020-08-04. Big Bend Coffee Roasters. en-US.
  12. Web site: Waltz. Amanda. Alisha B. Wormsley and Ricardo Iamuuri Robinson take multimedia installation Streaming Space to Market Square. 2020-08-04. Pittsburgh City Paper.
  13. News: Ratliff. Ben. 2011-05-16. Feet's Too Big? No Problem; Everyone Dances Here. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-08-03. 0362-4331.
  14. Web site: Margasak. Peter. Jason Moran's ongoing Fats Waller update. 2020-08-03. Chicago Reader. 10 October 2014 . en.
  15. Web site: First Listen: Jason Moran, 'All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller'. 2020-08-04. NPR.org. en.
  16. Web site: 2019-05-16. Two Events Celebrate the Legacy of Artist Pauline Oliveros. 2020-08-04. Glasstire. en-US.
  17. Web site: Discovery Green Wants You to Listen Deeply. 2020-08-04. Houstonia Magazine. en-US.
  18. Web site: Lisa E. Harris . 2022-04-28 . John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation . en-US.
  19. Web site: Rome . American Academy in . Affiliated Fellows . 2022-04-28 . American Academy in Rome . en.
  20. Web site: Elliott . Amber . July 21, 2021 . Houston artist Lisa 'Li' Harris awarded UH's inaugural fellowship in Rome . 2022-04-28 . Preview Houston Arts & Entertainment Guide . en-US.
  21. Web site: Lisa E. Harris FCA Grant Recipient . 2022-04-28 . www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org.
  22. Web site: Artist Grants . 2022-04-28 . Texas Vignette . en-US.
  23. Web site: Lisa Harris, School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University . 2022-04-28 . School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University . en.
  24. Web site: First Listen: Jason Moran, 'All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller'. 2020-08-03. NPR.org. en.
  25. Web site: West. Michael J.. Nicole Mitchell & Lisa E. Harris: EarthSeed (FPE). 2020-08-04. JazzTimes. en-US.