Harris Andersen is a 17-year old Woodbridge resident who won 1st Prize and Best Performance of a Commissioned Piece in the Renée B. Fisher Competition for Young Pianists–High School Division. Harris recently performed along with other young pianists in a recital at Neighborhood Music School, featuring the Winners of the Fisher Competition. The concert, which took place on May 5, featured great piano masterworks and two pieces which were winners of the Renée B. Fisher Composer’s Competition, written by Neil Brandt and Richard Thomas Jones. Harris began his piano studies at the age of five at Neighborhood Music School and currently studies there with Rebecca Raffaelli. He is a senior at Amity Regional High School and plans to attend Ithaca College in the fall of 2018 to study music education and piano performance with Dr. Charis Dimaras.
The 2018 Fisher Competition marks a 41-year tradition of nurturing young pianists who live or study in Connecticut. Neighborhood Music School proudly accepted management of the Competition in 2003. Milton B. Fisher of Westport, Conn., founded The Fisher Competition and Composer Awards as a fitting way to honor the memory of his wife Renée, a talented pianist, author and teacher who passed away in 1976. A distinguished panel of judges chose the winners after auditions, which took place on Saturday, April 14, 2017 at Neighborhood Music School.
Harris Andersen and his teacher, Rebecca Raffaelli. Photos by Judy Sirota Rosenthal