Biography
Dr Tom Harrison is a composer whose music has been used in over 200 different television series. His PhD at the Royal College of Music focused on contemporary approaches to cartoon music composition. After graduating with a BMus in Film Scoring summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music, he spent a decade working out in Hollywood. He worked as the assistant to a wide range of composers including Deborah Lurie, W. G. Snuffy Walden, Christopher Tyng, and as an intern on The Simpsons under Alf Clausen. Perhaps his most formative gig in LA was working on over 50 episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation under composer John M. Keane.
Dr Harrison currently divides his time between lecturing, running two music libraries, and working on composition and arranging projects. He recently arranged and produced 40 songs for Cocomelon and was the Arranger for CSI: Vegas season 3. His book How to Become a Film Composer is published by Hal Leonard, who will be releasing his second book Music Composition for Animation: Exploring New Approaches in 2026. As an MMus graduate (with Distinction) of King's College London, Dr Harrison is proud to return to the KCL Music Department as a Lecturer.
Research interests and PhD supervision
- Composition
- Film Music
Teaching
Dr Tom Harrison is a specialist in composition for screen. He also teaches a wide variety of topics including music theory and songwriting.
Expertise and public engagement
Podcast: Become a Composer with Dr Tom Harrison
Selected publications