In this episode, I chat with Dr. Frederick Harris. Dr. Harris is Director of Wind and Jazz Ensembles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he leads the MIT Wind Ensemble, MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, and jazz chamber music programs. He founded It Must Be Now!, a multimedia project addressing racial justice through music and visual art, and co-leads an initiative linking Brazilian music with environmental research on the Amazon rainforest. A two-time recipient of MIT’s Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching, he has commissioned and premiered over one hundred new works and collaborated with artists including Jacob Collier, Chick Corea, and Don Byron. Also an author and percussionist, Dr. Harris continues to inspire through his dedication to education, creativity, and community-centered music making.
