As we commence the month of April, I would like to take a moment to honor the memory of Donald Harris. He was a former music composition faculty member and Dean of the College of the Arts at Ohio State, serving from 1988 to 1997. Today, marks his birthday, and it is a fitting occasion to remember and appreciate his life and contributions to the field of music.

Donald Harris was born in 1931, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and died in Columbus, Ohio, in 2016. Harris received his education in composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied under the tutelage of Ross Lee Finney. He later continued his studies with renowned composers such as Lukas Foss, Boris Blacher, Nadia Boulanger, and Max Deutsch. Harris worked in Paris from 1954 to 1968, where he was a music consultant to the United States Information Service and produced the city’s first postwar Festival of Contemporary American Music. He also received several commissions, including from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Radio France, and the Cleveland Orchestra, among others.

Harris served as an administrator at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, before becoming Dean of the College of the Arts at Ohio State. Following his time as dean, he rejoined the Ohio State faculty in the composition area of the School of Music. Throughout his career, Harris received several honors, including the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters’ award in composition and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Ohio State University. He was also the co-editor of the W.W. Norton publication of the correspondence between Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg. Harris is especially remembered as a mentor and a kind-hearted person by all who knew him.

In our staff office, we have a powerful and timeless article by Harris titled “Is Art Essential?” which was originally published in the College’s Arts Advocate issue in 1998. Despite being pre-internet and not available online, a blogger has taken the initiative to transcribe the article, which we have posted here.

In summary, Harris explores the question of the role of art in a world that is riddled with socio-economic problems such as poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. Harris outlines that although art cannot eliminate these problems, it plays a significant role in teaching us about the feelings, emotions, and ideas of other cultures, societies, and civilizations. Art can motivate us to resolve issues of social inequality, and artists have often taken political positions that have been borne out by history. Harris believes that the value of art lies elsewhere and that it should not be viewed solely as a tool for solving socio-economic issues.

According to Harris, art has an urgency and a value that is independent of socio-economic problems. He argues that art teaches us to be tolerant and understand others by highlighting our differences and similarities, which is an important by-product of artistic expression. Further, art is not simply entertainment but is enlightening and reflective of life. Through art, we can learn more about ourselves and our societies, and we can personalize our own identities and differentiate ourselves from others. Harris concludes that art is essential because it possesses an inherent value that extends beyond socio-economic issues. Through it, we can learn important lessons about ourselves and our lived environments. We develop our own identities and differentiate ourselves from others. Through art, Harris asserts, we can learn important lessons about ourselves and our societies, and become more tolerant and empathetic towards others.

Donald Harris was a more than an administrator. He held the unique gift of combining passion, purpose, advocacy, and thoughtful governance to nurture the arts at Ohio State. We are a better school because of him.