About Stu Harrison
Stu was born and raised in South-Western Ontario, beginning piano instruction at the age of 3. Completing his early studies through the Suzuki Method in London ON, and then studying with Harold Riddolls (RCM), he attained his ARCT by 16.
Following several years of competitive classical performance, he branched out into a wide variety of musical settings, from choir direction to church organist, and finally to jazz. He attended the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance program, graduating with Honours in 2003.
Harrison has been an active part of Toronto’s live musical scene since the early 2000’s, including stints at Second City, Young People’s Theatre, and music director for Garden Bros Circus. More recently, he’s been thrilled to be a regular performer with some of Canada’s leading jazz icons including Heather Bambrick, Billy Newton-Davis, Faith Amour, June Garber, Tia Brazda, Terry Clarke, Neil Swainson, Matt Dusk, Justin Bacchus, Larnell Lewis, Adrian Bent, Ross MacIntyre, and Annie Bonsignore.
In addition, since 2005 he’s been a music teacher, salesperson, and marketing director with Merriam Music, one of North America’s premiere music schools and piano retailers. He is also a prominent presence on their acclaimed piano-themed Youtube Channel, now with close to 15 Million views. In 2021, he was made President of Merriam Music.
In October 2016, Stu released his debut album “Volume 1” (One Nightstand Records), to critical acclaim, featuring Canadian legends Terry Clarke, and Neil Swainson. He is currently in pre-production on his follow-up CD, due out late 2023/early 2024.
Stu Harrison currently lives in the Toronto area with his wife Annie Bonsignore and his two amazing kids Olivia and Elliott.