About

Photo by Drew Baron

Photo by Drew Baron

Performing

An accomplished violinist and fiddler, Kristen is an active freelance musician around the Southeast and performs and records regularly as a solo artist and with ensembles ranging in style from classical and jazz, to old time, bluegrass, pop and rock, and has toured across the United States and in the United Kingdom. She is the two-time South Carolina State Fiddle Champion (2013, 2019), the Jasper Magazine 2019 Artist of the Year, and was featured in the Summer 2020 Edition of Fiddler Magazine for the release of her solo old time fiddle album “Borger Wiggle.”

you can find Kristen performing locally with her Americana group Boomtown Trio, or the Hot Club Jazz band Flat Out Strangers. She also plays regularly with Admiral Radio and The Resonant Rogues.

Teaching

Kristen Harris is a violinist, fiddler, and educator currently residing in Columbia, SC. She is the Violin Coordinator and violin instructor at the Suzuki Academy of Columbia, and adjunct professor of Violin Pedagogy and String Techniques at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC.
Kristen began her musical career as a Suzuki violin student and became passionate about performing and collaborating with musicians of various genres at a very young age. She received her Bachelor of Music degree with honors at the University of Oregon, where she studied with Fritz Gearhart, and earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of South Carolina, where she studied with Dr. William Terwilliger and taught at the USC String Project under the direction of Dr. Gail Barnes. Kristen has been teaching Suzuki violin since 2007, and has taught grades 6-8 orchestra in the public schools. With a current studio of over 20 students ranging in age from 3-18, her students regularly participate in regional and all-state youth orchestras and have won prestigious fiddle competitions such as the SC State Fiddling Championship, Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention, and Mount Airy Bluegrass & Old-Time Fiddlers Convention.
When not teaching, you can find Kristen performing with her Americana group Boomtown Trio, the Hot Club Jazz band Flat Out Strangers, and frequently with the bands Resonant Rogues and Admiral Radio. A multi-instrumentalist and improvising string player, she is an active freelance musician around the Southeast and performs and records regularly as a solo artist and with ensembles ranging in style from classical and jazz, to old time, bluegrass, pop and rock, and has toured across the United States and in the United Kingdom. She is the two-time South Carolina State Fiddle Champion (2013, 2019), the Jasper Magazine 2019 Artist of the Year, and was featured in the Summer 2020 Edition of Fiddler Magazine for the release of her solo old time fiddle album “Borger Wiggle.”

Kristen is currently on faculty at:

The Suzuki Academy of Columbia
University of South Carolina