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William C Harrington

William C. Harrington is an elctronic music composer, free jazz improviser who utilizes sax, synths, loops and found objects.

About Me

William C. Harrington was born in Yonkers, New York. His grandmother played piano at silent movie theaters: by the time he was a sophomore in high school, he was working as a professional musician playing parties, roller-skating rinks, and more.

While at CSU Dominguez Hills he studied composition, performance, electronic music, and prepared piano techniques with Richard B. Evans, author of the classic book on John Cage, “The Well Prepared Piano.” He was also influenced by seminars with several composers including Nicholas Slominsky.

After leaving college he worked in the wholesale record industry for two years (where he amassed a sizable collection of electronic and avant-garde recordings) before going on tour. Working as a keyboard technician, he toured with several bands including, Gentle Giant and Frank Zappa (making a brief, credited appearance in Zappa’s movie, “Baby Snakes”). He was with Zappa in Paris when Pierre Boulez visited.

Upon returning to LA, he attended UCLA Extension's Music Business course where he was awarded two NARAS scholarships. He studied music business, law, and management - as well as record production with Nick Venet – producer of The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater and many others. It was during this time that a proposed recording of electronic music with spoken word led to a meeting with William Burroughs.

He has performed at the REDCAT in the Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA), ResBox at The Steve Allen Theater (Hollywood), The Luggage Store (San Francisco), Make Music New York, The Knitting Factory (LA), electro-music 2006 (Philadelphia), and appears in the indie film, 40 Bands in 80 Minutes.

His first two cd’s, Urban Electronic Music, and UEM Live received good reviews and airplay on NPR, college, and indie radio stations. Nuclear Menace (which was completed with the help of a Subito Grant from The American Composer’s Forum) was reviewed in the Fall/2007 issue of Signal to Noise. His fourth cd, noise noise, likewise received good reviews and airplay. G3 (his fifth) is a collection of improvisations featuring several of LA’s finest improvisers. It was recorded during 2009/10, at various venues around Southern California.