BIOGRAPHY

Adam Harrington (b. 2000) is an American composer writing narrative and descriptive music that is exciting, colorful, and expressive. Often praised for his imaginative orchestration, strong melodic content, and vivid narrative structures, Harrington is always seeking to write music that is enjoyable by musicians and non-musicians alike. Visual and literary art play a key role in his work as many pieces are based on paintings, poetry, and narrative media like film and novels.

Harrington is a recent winner of the Mostly Modern Festival’s orchestral competition with his work “Fireworks” given its premiere at the festival in June 2025. His work was praised for its sparkly and energetic orchestration and described as “incendiary” (Geoffrey Burleson) and “marvelous” (JoAnn Falletta). His work “Marvels in the Mountains”, also premiered at the Mostly Modern Festival by the FAB5 (string quartet and percussion) was commended for its programatic structure. Harrington was the runner-up for NYU’s orchestral competition with the orchestral version of his work “Starry Night” and his wind band piece “Road to the Sun” was selected as the runner-up in the Austin Symphonic Band competition. Spring 2025 saw the premieres of “…All in a Hot and Copper Sky” with pianist Katherine Wenyi Xiong, “Sure on this Shining Night” with the Cypress Winds, “Ghosts Before Breakfast” for The Rhythm Method, and “Subway Story” for members of Contemporaneous. Upcoming projects include a work for NYU’s Contemporary Ensemble, new music for pianist Katherine Wenyi Xiong, a horn quartet, a percussion quartet, and a short programatic song cycle.

Before his studies as a composer, Harrington studied music education, horn, and conducting at the University of Houston. He graduated with a B.M. in Horn Performance in 2022 after studying with Gavin Reed and Robert Johnson. He began composition study in his final year, studying with Rob Smith and Marcus Maroney. Harrington remains an active horn player in NYC and performs with the New Conductors Orchestra (NCO) and NYU’s Contemporary Ensemble, doing an occasional gig every so often. He credits his time as a horn player as his main influence in composition as well as his love of John Williams, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss.

Harrington is entering the second year of his M.M. in concert composition at NYU’s Steinhardt School and his principal teachers include Justin Dello Joio, Robert Honstein, and Julia Wolfe. In his free time Harrington is an avid sports fan, supporting teams from Houston and Seattle as well as Arsenal Football Club. He is also a lover of film and video games and credits both as having a great influence on him as a composer. He is also hoping to eventually finish visiting all US states (only some midwestern states remain) and national parks.