orig. LeRoy Ellsworth Harris
born Feb. 12, 1898, near Chandler, Okla., U.S.
died Oct. 1, 1979, Santa Monica, Calif.
U.S. composer.
He farmed and did odd jobs to support his music studies. After World War I he attended the University of California at Berkeley. In the 1920s he studied with Arthur Farwell (1872–1952) and Nadia Boulanger , building a reputation for craft and seriousness of purpose. Of his 12 completed symphonies, the third (1937) is the best known. His music, while unmistakably modern, has roots in folk song and is often sombre and plainspoken.