The Harrison Orchestra Program is a part of the Cobb County School District’s Fine Arts program. It is nestled in the beautiful Georgia pines of Kennesaw, Georgia. Harrison High School currently houses over 2,000 students in grades 9-12 and is consistently rated among the best schools in the county, state and national level. The Harrison Orchestra has performed domestically and internationally and is a recipient of numerous awards and invitations. The orchestra was invited to perform for the Georgia Music Educators Association Convention in 1998 and 2006. In 2007, the orchestra was invited to perform at the Orchestra of America National Concert Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana and perform by the Roswell Street Baptist Church, which was aired on channel ATL 57. In 2008, the Harrison Orchestra performed at the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA) national conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the 2009, the orchestra was invited to perform at the Governor’s Mansion as well as the American Cancer Society Building for Earth Day. The orchestra was also invited and accepted to perform in the National Band and Orchestra Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York in the spring of 2011. The orchestra then traveled to an International Festival in London, England where their performance earned an award in the spring of 2013. In 2014 the orchestra competed and won their division at The Festivals of Music in Chicago, Illinois.
The program consists of four orchestras – Concert Orchestra, Classic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and the Harrison Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, the program maintains a very active chamber music program. Students in the Harrison Orchestra program are consistent members in the Georgia All-State Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Georgia’s Governor’s Honors Program. Additionally, through the generous support of the Harrison Orchestra Boosters, our students have the opportunity to work with a faculty of outstanding professional musicians.
In Cobb County, students begin orchestra in the sixth grade. Most students attending Harrison High School come from Durham Middle School (Jennifer Aikey, director), Lost Mountain Middle School (Linda Stephens, director), or McClure Middle School (Clare Mansell, director.)