Heralded as a “bold, emergent personality” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, bassoonist Harrison Hollingsworth was appointed Principal Bassoon of the New York City Ballet Orchestra at the age of 21, while still a student at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is also Principal Bassoon and Artist Faculty at the Brevard Music Center, and is in high demand as a principal bassoonist, chamber musician, soloist, and pedagogue.

Harrison performs recitals worldwide, with appearances ranging from the Kennedy Center to La Mortella in Ischia, Italy, and he has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisville Orchestra. A frequent guest artist with top ensembles, he has been invited to perform with the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Ballet Theatre, the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center (formerly Mostly Mozart), the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Chesapeake Chamber Music, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, and the Olympic Music Festival. He is also a violinist, and writes and performs original music with Downtown Folk.

Harrison is equally recognized as a conductor of “polish, vigor, and energy” (The New York Times). He has conducted over sixty performances with the New York City Ballet since 2012, where he is a regular guest conductor and Conductor of Family Saturdays. He also serves as Associate Conductor of the New York Choral Society and as Music Director and Conductor at Redeemer Downtown. His past appointments include Music Director of the Columbia University Bach Society, Assistant Conductor with the New York Youth Symphony, and Co-Artistic Director of GardenMusic Festival (Miami, FL).

As a teacher, Harrison is equally at home in the private studio and the classroom, and his pedagogy centers Socratic dialectic, memorable analytical frameworks, and deep relational trust. He currently serves as Principal Artist Faculty at the Brevard Music Center, and has been invited to conduct, teach, coach, and adjudicate at leading institutions including the Julliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the Chautauqua Institution, and the Mannes School of Music.