Recently, WOSU PBS did a lovely profile video of my work. You can watch it here. They also created a supplementary short that gives a brief history of my artistic career. Plus, our dog Iggy makes a guest appearance.
New Music USA Creator Fund Award for "The Surveyors"
I’m excited to share that I’m a 2026 @NewMusicUSA Creator Fund awardee! 🎉 I’ll use this grant to help with a new project called "The Surveyors," which explores the landscapes and people of Appalachian Ohio. I’m honored to be part of this group of artists pushing music forward!
The New Music Creator Fund offers grants to individual music creators to reach the next stage of their creative practice.
#ListeningForward #2026CreatorFund
Photo: Tom Hansell
"Forest Listening Rooms" Part of "Field Studies" Exhibition
“Forest Listening Rooms” is part of a group exhibition at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum in North Carolina. The exhibition, called “Field Studies,” features many artists focused on landscapes and the environment. It runs from June 13, 2026 to January 7, 2027. More info here.
Watch a Talk for the American Musicological Society: "Re-Animating the Sound Archive"
Last year, I did residency at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, and it included the above talk about my own work with archives. If you are interested in this work, or in understanding an overview of my artistic process/career, please check it out!
"Broad and High" Video Premiere
It was wonderful to be featured on WOSU Public Media's show "Broad and High" this week! You can watch my segment above.
Appearance on PBS's "Broad and High"
Tomorrow (Thursday 5/14), I'll be on our local PBS station (WOSU), with a segment on Broad and High! Watch a preview below, and then tune in this Thursday at 8pm on WOSU TV, HULU + live and YouTube TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTMIE6bw5fo
"Mort and Dot" -- A New EP Out Today
"Mort and Dot" is out today--An EP of ten piano pieces that are loosely inspired by my grandparents' old sheet music. And, if you like to play the piano, a PDF of the score comes with it so you can play along. Have a listen!
https://brianharnetty.bandcamp.com/album/mort-and-dot
Contribution to "Archival Entanglements" Out this Fall
I’ve written a chapter, called “Forest Listening Rooms,” which is for a new edited volume of essays, Archival Entanglements. It will be published this September, on The Ohio State University Press. Learn more about the project here:
New Essay Series and EP: "Mort and Dot"
Over the month of April, I'll be posting new tracks and stories from a new album of piano music called "Mort and Dot" -- based on my grandparents' old sheet music. You can read about it in my newsletter here:
"This Was Once a Forest" Opens at MOCA Cleveland
The sound and video installation “This Was Once a Forest, This Was Once a Sea” opened this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. It is part of the “Ohio Now” exhibit, which features artists from across the state, all of whom are focused on issues of environment and senses of place in Ohio. The exhibition will be up through May 31. I hope that you can go see and hear it! You can learn more about the exhibition here: https://www.mocacleveland.org/exhibitions/ohio-now
Ohio Arts Council's 2026 Individual Excellence Award
I’m excited to announce that I was among the winners of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for 2026. Many congratulations to all of the other winners! You can read more about the awards here:
https://oac.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/art/home/news-and-events/all-news/iea-fy-2026
2025 Year-in-Review
If you would like to learn about the music, art, and writing projects I’ve been working on this past year, please take a look at my latest newsletter. It has been a meaningful year, despite all of its hardships. Thanks to everyone that I’ve talked with and worked with!
Visiting Berea College on November 6 (12-1 pm)
I’m excited to visit Berea College this week, and talk about my new book Noisy Memory. Two of the chapters of the book deal with my time at Berea and the projects that came out of those experiences. I hope you can join us!
Image from the GCAC.
Finalist for the Greater Columbus Arts Council Artist Elevated Award
Last week, I was honored to be a finalist for the Artist Elevated Award from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, which recognizes artists and their career growth, creativity, and artistic vision. I was happy to be at the awards ceremony at the National Veterans Memorial museum in Columbus, Ohio. Congrats to the winners!
Listen to the Art of the Rural Podcast
I’ve loved what Art of the Rural has been doing and making for a long time now, and I’m so glad I got to spend time talking with their founder and Executive Director Matthew Fluharty on the Art of the Rural Podcast. His insights into my new book Noisy Memory (published with UNC Press) are wonderful, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. You can listen to the podcast below!
Look/Listen to a New Project: The House
It feels strange to keep sharing intimate projects about my family, but I think there is something in them that others might see and hear that connects to the bigger ideas and feelings that run through them. So, here is the release of a brand new piece called “The House” – it is 10 minutes long, and has recordings of my parents’ house along with a string quartet and our family’s old piano. I hope that you can watch and listen to it. Many thanks to the GCAC for their support for this project. You can also learn more by reading an essay about it here: https://brianharnetty.substack.com/p/looklisten-to-a-new-project-the-house
Feature Interview in The Brooklyn Rail
In the October 2025 issue of the Brooklyn Rail, I had an interview with the musician and author John P. Hastings about my new book Noisy Memory. We talked about working with archives, my process of composing, and about the social fabric of Appalachian Ohio. You can read it here:
"Art and the Environment" Series at the Ross Art Museum
I will be giving a public talk called “Sound, Listening, and the Environment” as part of a series at the Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University. It takes place this evening (September 23) at 6:30pm. For more details, visit here.
"Noisy Memory" Book and Album Out Today!
Both the book and the companion compilation digital album for Noisy Memory: Recording Sound, Performing Archives are out today. You can purchase the book at the University of North Carolina Press website, or on my Bandcamp page (where you can also get the music that accompanies the book). I am so excited to share them with you, and hope that you enjoy them!
Author Reading at Two Dollar Radio HQ on 8/27
Join me for an author reading one week from today -- Come to Two Dollar Radio Headquarters in Columbus on Wednesday 8/27 at 8:00pm to celebrate the publication of Noisy Memory. More info below:
https://twodollarradiohq.com/event/2025-08-27/author-reading-brian-harnetty