Hazel Harrison, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetHazel Harrison
American musician
Date of Birth: 12-May-1883
Place of Birth: La Porte, Indiana, United States
Date of Death: 28-Apr-1969
Profession: pianist
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Hazel Harrison
- Hazel Harrison (May 12, 1883 – April 29, 1969) was an African-American concert pianist.
- She was the first fully American-trained musician to appear with a European orchestra.Harrison was born in La Porte, Indiana, and spent most of her childhood home schooled; but she attended La Porte High School, and graduated.
- As a child, she studied under Victor Heinze, eventually commuting between La Porte and Chicago to continue lessons with him.
- She spent most of her time in Berlin performing recitals and performing with the Berlin Philharmonic.
- She later returned to the United States, and while performing in Chicago received sponsorship to travel back to Europe.
- During the next several years, Harrison continued her studies with Hugo van Dalen in Berlin.
- Van Dalan arranged for Harrison to have an audition with Italian composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni; after hearing her, Busoni, who had previously refused to accept more students, decided to oversee her training.
- She then began performing as a concert pianist both in Europe and the U.S., eluding much recognition in the U.S.
- in spite of the fact that she was lauded in the black press. In 1931, Harrison accepted a job as the head of the piano department at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
- Ralph Ellison took a comment by Harrison as the starting point for one of his essays, The Little Man at Chehaw Station. In 1936 she moved to Washington, D.C.
- and accepted a teaching job at Howard University, where she remained until retirement in 1955.
- While teaching, Harrison still performed in the United States, and after retirement she accepted positions at Alabama A&M University and Jackson College.
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