Thomas Harrison, Ph.D.

• Associate Director Associate Director, Budget
• Thomas.Harrison@ucf.edu
• Office Hours: SPA: Tuesday, 2-3 (Room T204). Thursday 3:30-5 (room M225). Rosen: Tuesday, 2-3, Cublicle 200-I
• Campus Location: PACM225
• View personal website

Dr. Thomas Harrison holds credits as a guitarist, producer and recording engineer, and is active as both as a musicologist and composer of music for the concert hall. Dr. Harrison has recently released albums on From The Ashes Records, for heavy metallists American Glutton, which has received critical acclaim and radio airplay internationally. 

Dr. Harrison has affiliations with Fender Guitars, Marshall Amplification, Celestion Speakers, Seymour Duncan pickups, D'Addario strings, Warm Audio Microphones, Hipshot accessories and EX-Gear effects pedals.

Dr. Harrison's musicological research interests focus on hard rock and heavy metal of the 1980s, and the role of recording producers in the making of specific albums. He has delivered academic papers internationally, and is the author of Van Halen: The Music and the Fans 1978-1986 (Pearson), Preparing the Commercial Guitarist (Cheeky Chappy Music), Living on a Prayer (Kendall Hunt) two titles from the series American History Through Music, Music of the 1980s and Music of the 1990s, and Pop Goes the Decade: The 1980s (Greenwood Press) in addition to features in academic journals. The focus of his Ph.D. at the University of Salford was Van Halen.

Dr. Harrison has worked with noted multi-platinum producers, including Geoff Workman, Michael Wagener, Ric Browde and Greg D'Angelo, as an artist, engineer and/or second engineer, and contributed backing vocals on the Ringo Starr album Vertical Man.

Dr. Harrison has previously served on the faculties at Elizabeth City State (NC) University and Jacksonville University. 

Education

• Ph.D. in Musicology from University of Salford (2005)
• M.M. in Commercial Music: Composition and Arranging from California State University at Los Angeles (1998)
• Certificate in Instrumental Music Education K-12 Credential from California State University at Northridge (1996)
• B.M. in Commercial Music: Guitar Performance from University of Denver (1992)

Research Interests

Performance and Production: hard rock and heavy metal.  Engineering: nearly all genres.  Musicological research: 1980s American hard rock.  Compositions for the concert hall: varied acoustic instrumentations, atonal.

Courses

Updated: Oct 9, 2020