Harris, Johana, 1912-1995 : Pianist, composer, and teacher born in Ottawa, Beula Duffey (later known as Johana Harris) showed musical talent from an early age. A child prodigy on piano, Duffey studied with Bertha LaVerde Worden and Henry Puddicombe, and performed engagements in and around Ottawa, including some of her own compositions in her repertoire. In 1924, after her graduation from Puddicombe's Canadian Conservatory of Music, Duffey and her family moved to New York City (NYC) where she pursued studies with Ernest Hutcheson (piano) and Rubin Goldmark (composition) of the Juilliard Graduate School / Juilliard School of Music, graduating with distinction in 1933. She also studied voice at the Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin in 1929 and 1932. During her time at Juilliard, Duffey's career included concert and recital appearances, teaching duties at the school (beginning in 1928), and a series of weekly radio broadcasts with Hutcheson. It was at Juilliard in 1935 that Duffey met the composer Roy Harris, and on their marriage in 1936 she adopted, at his instigation, the name Johana Harris (the "Johana" in reference to Johann S. Bach). An early success was her critically acclaimed 1938 recording for RCA Victor of Busoni's piano arrangement of Bach's Chaconne in D Minor, the first ever recording of this work. After their marriage, the Harrises led connected and complementary careers, with Johana Harris working closely with her husband in his activities as a composer and gaining recognition as the leading performer of his works for piano. The Harrises held a series academic appointments (typically with Johana Harris as a piano instructor and Roy Harris as a composer in residence), usually at the same institution. After her period as a Juilliard instructor (1928-1935), Johana Harris was a teacher at: Lebanon Valley College, Pennsylvania, 1935-1936; Westminster Choir College, Princeton, 1937-1938; Henry Street Settlement, NYC, 1938-1939; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1939-1941; Colorado College, 1941-1948; Utah State Agricultural College (chairman of Piano Department), 1948-1949; George Peabody College for Teachers, Tennessee and Kentucky, 1949-1951; Pennsylvania College for Women / Chatham College, Pittsburgh, 1951-1959; Interamerican University, Puerto Rico (chairman of Department of Music), 1960-1962; University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, 1962-1964; California Institute of the Arts, 1964-1969; and University of California, Los Angeles, 1969-1993. Although based in the USA, Johana Harris maintained her Canadian identity and citizenship throughout her career. In addition to her activities as a distinguished music teacher (which included master classes, workshops, and festival residencies), Johana Harris adjudicated music competitions and continued to pursue her parallel careers as a prolific concert and recording artist (culminating in over 3000 concerts and recitals and a discography of over 100 recordings). While Johana Harris' concerts often consisted of performances of composed music (including works by Bach, Beethoven, Bloch, Debussy, Ginastera, Roy Harris, Piston, Prokofiev, and Schoenberg), she also created improvisations during live performances. Although best known as a classical pianist, Johana Harris was also active in folk music circles, performing and recording as a vocalist and pianist. She was the featured artist on numerous radio and television broadcasts, including several series of regular programmes, such as Master Keys which was televised from Pittsburgh. In addition to the Harrises and their children, who by 1957 were five in number (Patricia, Dan, Shaun, Maureen, and Lane), the Harris household included their family friend Carole Williams, who often acted as the Harrises' secretary, assistant, or representative. In 1982, three years after the death of Roy Harris, Johana Harris married one of her students, the composer and pianist John (Jake) Heggie, with whom she performed numerous two-piano concerts.
